FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Straightheads [DVD] [2007]

Straightheads [DVD] [2007]
enlarge	Actors: Gillian Anderson, Danny Dyer Studio: Verve Pictures Category: DVD List Price: ~~£15.99~~ Buy New: £2.45 as of 21/11/2009 19:43 GMT details You Save: £13.54 (85%) New (17) Used (15) Collectible (1) from £1.75 Seller: sellthatmovie Rating: 29 reviews Sales Rank: 18100 Format: PAL Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 76 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.6 EAN: 5055159277396 ASIN: B000PFU9H4 Theatrical Release Date: 2007 Release Date: September 24, 2007 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next » Exceptionally violent but never gratuitous April 30, 2007 Jaybird (London, UK) 84 out of 94 found this review helpful Straightheads is the story about a successful, controlling career woman, Alice, played by Gillian Anderson, who decides to take her young alarm man, Adam, played by Danny Dyer, on a date. br / br /However both Adam and Alice are assaulted on the way home, following which their lives become entwined, with both obsessed with how they were hurt, unable to speak of it to others. When Alice discovers where one of the attackers lives, she persuades Adam to consider revenge. br / br /The film is not so much about revenge as about violence, in particular how violence begets violence. It explores themes of war indirectly, including how armies protect, and fail to protect, soldiers from the dehumanising effect of perpetrating violence. Although not set in a war zone, many of the characters have a military background - including Alice's father. br / br /It is also a film about moral contingencies, about how it is impossible to judge another's actions by absolute standards, unless you have been in the same situation. br / br /A film about violence that failed to show that violence would be cheating, but this film is never gratuitous or voyeuristic. We understand what happened to Alice and Adam, how the attack felt, how it damaged them, by observing the aftermath it leaves behind. br / br /Set in idyllic English countryside, the film is beautifully shot and elegantly directed. br / br /Anderson and Dyer give brilliant, understated performances, who undergo a real journey in the course of the film. They are ably supported by the rest of the cast. br / br /An pertinent film, that deserves viewing. Good British film September 11, 2008 Peter Wade (Colchester England) 5 out of 7 found this review helpful I usually read the reviews before I decide to view the film particularly if I have never heard of it. The reviews were mixed. br / br /I like a good revenge film as it is something we have all thought about but never have the guts to do. br / br /In this case a successful career woman takes up with a much younger man who has just happened to come round and fit safety devices in her house. She is the super sexy and sophisticated business woman and he watches her undress and keeps the clip. She knows she is being watched and then decides to go out with him. She takes him to a party. They hardly know each other but after the party they are attacked on the way home. He is badly injured and she is raped. The violence is not graphic. br / br /Their lives are bound together by the tragedy and they try to recover. Her father dies and she moves back to the area where the attack took place. br / br /One day she spots one of her attackers. There are times in the film when you jump with surprise and shock and that keeps you watching. When she spots her attacker she decides on revenge but the younger lover is not so keen. br / br /If the film has any faults it is the fact that you know so little about the couple that you are no drawn into to be sympathetic of their plight. The attackers are shadowy figures and you know very little about them br / br /You do not have the opportunity to hate them and the main one who raped her is treated sympathetically as he explains why he did it. br / br /In a revenge film you want to have total sympathy wit the victims and total hatred for the attackers. In this film you are torn as you do not know enough about each. br /Also normally you are encouraged to relish the end of each of the baddies but this does not happen here. br / br /If you want gratuitous sex and violence this isn't for you . The sex is tasteful and the violence is mainly off camera. br / br /I liked Gillian Anderson's convincing English accent but I think she did attend an English boarding school. Danny Dyer the young love was less convincing but maybe I am wrong and that is exactly how a 23 year old alarm man caught up in a revenge story with an older woman would react. br / br /I liked it and it is definitely worth a watch. The parts I found disturbing were not the overtly violent or sexy bits. br / br /Again I like these films because they are set in Britain and are therefore more realistic and disturbing.If they are set in the mean streets of the US they are just films. unlike some reviews this is exactly the sort of things are lottery money should be spent on. We have enough crumbling churches if people wants to restore them. The British film industry needs funding and maybe like the Olympics we will be up there again. br / br / br / straightheads dvd June 19, 2009 Mrs. S. J. Thurland (uk) 0 out of 6 found this review helpful Hav'nt seen this yet but was highly recommended to me and the story line looks good,so cant wait till i can find time to see it,look it up!!! Brilliant Brilliant Brilliant October 23, 2009 Michelle Harvey I only saw this film the other day, and I thought it was brill! A friend at university had recommended it to me, and as it stars the gorgeous Danny Dyer aswell I thought I ought to watch it. I thought the story line was excellent - others have commented that you do not know enough about the characters to feel any pity/hate towards them - but this is great because there are no boring parts, the film 'gets on with it', it's action packed from start to finish. Gillian Anderson's english accent was superb, and both her and Dyer played their parts excellently.I thought the sex scenes were great but tasteful. I found the violence quite disturbing, but it was part of the film, and you had to see it to understand why they needed revenge. The revenge scenes were disturbingly brilliant. Well worth watching, and I am sure I will be watching it again. I am a little confused August 2, 2008 P. Davie 2 out of 6 found this review helpful Well, I waited a while before watching this. Mainly because I have to be in the right frame of mind to watch a revenge film of this type. br / br /I am not quite sure what I was expecting - and I think that comes down to the fact that the director didn't quite know what they were directing. I get the feeling that the film was trying to do two jobs at once - show (albeit subtly, it has to be said) a visceral attack and the motive for vengence. Or show the imbroglio of emotions two people might feel when they decide to embark on revenge. Unfortunately, it doesn't really do either job particularly well. Which is a shame, as you do get the impression they were trying. br / br /So - the viscerality. I am not one to suggest that films should be more violent/disturbing but I am afraid the depiction of all the attacks in this film simply don't have the desired impact. For some reason, you don't really feel for any of the characters involved. In the case of Danny Dyer and Gillian Anderson - see below. In the case of the attackers, it is largely because they come across as terrible stereotypes - particularly Ralph Brown. br / br /So - character turmoil. I haven't seen Danny Dyer in much. That's because my "love" of cockney barra' boy types ended as the credits to Lock Stock mercifully rolled up the screen. Here, he is playing a much more muted version of his previous roles. Which is a relief. However, he sadly never gets much beyond muted. Now this could be because his character is a bit shy and out of his depth in the situation he finds himself. Or because he is almost permanently stoned. Either way, we don't ever find out that much about him. Other than the fact that Dyer seems to find serious acting a bit of a struggle. For many, this will make it difficult to care about his character. Ditto for Anderson, too. She turns in a pretty decent performance, but does so hampered by a pretty lumpen script. Sadly, I think the director must have gone down the European route here - lots of staring and very stilted dialogue to represent two characters who barely know each other and are a bit awkward in each other's presence. It really doesn't work that well, though. Disappointing because better characterisation would have rounded this film out nicely. br / br /Now the message. Dyer and Anderson make for pretty terrible revenge-motivated psychos. Unlike many films, Straightheads pauses to consider the difficulty normal people might face in taking the law into their own hands. Possibly the reason for the title. It is for this reason I decided to give 3, instead of 2, stars. Had the characters been given a bit more depth, this part of the film would have given the whole thing considerably more merit. And given the film's short running time, a bit of extra padding would not have gone amiss. br / br /What we end up with instead is a fairly thin exploration of conscience. Clearly the two leads feel wronged enough to want to dole out some "eye-for-an-eye" but they are too clouded by the kind of conscience their attackers don't possess. Thus, they do not rampage. They consider their response carefully and, when it comes down to it, do not seem to relish it - entirely. Which makes for interesting (if not entirely satisfactory)viewing. br / br /So I am confused. I was expecting a tacky revenge film done badly. I am relieved it wasn't that. I am glad that someone was trying to take this format down a different route. I am a bit annoyed that it wasn't done that little bit better. Showing reviews 1-5 of 29 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next »

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