Circus Review
by Ian Waldron-Mantgani (Ukcritic AT aol DOT com)May 14th, 2000
Circus **1/2
Rated on a 4-star scale
Screening venue: Warner Village (Birkenhead Conway Park)
Released in the UK by Columbia TriStar on May 5, 2000; certificate 18; 95 minutes; country of origin UK; aspect ratio 1.85:1
Directed by Rob Walker; produced by James Gibb, Alan Latham.
Written by David Logan.
Photographed by Ben Seresin; edited by Oral Norrie Ottey.
CAST.....
John Hannah..... Leo Garfield
Famke Janssen..... Lily Garfield
Peter Stormare..... Julius Harvey
Eddie Izzard..... Troy Cabrara
Brian Conley..... Bruno Maitland
Amanda Donohoe..... Gloria
The writer of "Circus", David Logan, has such an ability to create convolutions that some day he may give us a great gangster picture. This is not it. His screenplay features too many twists and turns, from too many unexpected angles, for too damn long, and after a while we just groan at every new 'surprise'. It's suspenseful in a story when anything can happen. It's kind of ridiculous when everything does.
"Circus" is a British movie starring John Hannah as a hit man who is asked by an old crime-boss friend (Brian Conley) to run his Brighton casino. Before Hannah can take him up on the offer, though, he must take care of one piece of unfinished business -- the assassination of a rich man's wife (Amanda Donohoe).
We see the killing carried out. Then it transpires there is much more to the story. At first we think Hannah's client is entrapping him, but there's actually a whole pageant of double-crossing, blackmailing, double-dealing and scamming going on behind the scenes. It's far too complicated to go into here. When my companion leaned over and said "I've lost the plot!", it wasn't a confession of madness.
Actually, it's simple in one sense -- everyone's screwing over everyone else. That lets Logan turn out twist after twist, but we soon realise what he's doing, and so none of his tricks have the ability to shock us. The plot has low credibility anyway, because most of the characters' secret schemes are dependent on coincidence, guesswork and chance.
A movie like this needs more than complicated puzzles to keep us involved. It requires characters who inspire our fascination. Just look at the colourful ensemble in "The Usual Suspects". The people in "Circus" are distinctive, all right -- they include a gigantic bodyguard who drives a Mini; a fidgety, screw-loose accountant with eccentric dress sense; a debt collector who sings all his conversations in the rhythm of old pop songs; and a bank robber who dresses in cowboy clothing and experiences coitus interruptus with a hotel receptionist who'll "suck you off for twenty quid". But this troupe belongs in a comedy sketch show, not a thriller that expects to hold our attention. And Hannah, such a soft-spoken everyman, is far too bland for the lead role.
What can I say? At least the film tries hard, is sincere, and has ambition. It's better than the ads make it out to be, and if you really can't fight the urge to see a gangster film in the cinema this season, "Circus" is a much better bet than "Love, Honour and Obey".
COPYRIGHT(c) 2000 Ian Waldron-Mantgani
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Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
