Touches You

Great Film overall

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Would describe it as a very dry, dark, low key caper film. Don't expect an action flick with a lot of testosterone. The best performances were by Gary Oldman (his character probably has a tragic, dangerous and sad backstory; side note: Oldman can sing.) Robert Carlyle (as Danny Devine he fills the screen with energy,) Terrence Stamp (a gentleman mobster) and Billy Zane ("Do put that away, we're not Americans.") The character of Salvadore the stoner seems superfluous.

There's a minefield of British gangster flicks out there, riding the colourful wake of Guy Ritchie's output, and similar fare. Some are solid, and some blow up in your face with mediocrity when you come across them. Dead Fish falls somewhat in between those two reactions. On the one hand, it's slick, visually adept, well casted and for the most part acted and knows how to set up a stylized scene. On the other hand, parts of it are silly, incongruent to the piece as a whole and kind of.. crappy. It's both a good bad movie and a bad good movie, and I know that doesn't give much of a concise picture or really tell you whether to watch it or not, but too bad, that was my conflicted reaction. Gary Oldman, in one of his last loopy performances before he reigned it in, plays Lynch, a lively assassin with an unstable personality. He jumps from contract to contract, until a beautiful girl (Elena Anaya) catches his eye, and he's struck with alarming and slightly creepy lovesickness for her. She's got an American boyfriend (Andrew Lee Potts, who almost brings the film toppling down with his shoddy acting) who is on the run from violent loan shark Danny Devine (Robert Carlyle, frothing at the mouth like a pissy little windup toy). Lynch collides with them all including Pott's stoner buddy (Jimi Mistry always looks like he needs to pee really bad and he's waiting for them to say "cut"). It's not super clear what Oldman's character objective is besides going off on a freaky bi-polar tangent as he pursues his perceived dream girl and seems ready to forsake the high paying hit-man job he seems so comfortable in. Nevertheless it's fun to see him run around shooting people and being a mental head, and no one can do that like our Gary. The plot thickens, or rather becomes unintelligible, when two secret spy operatives are brought in by some agency to.. do...man I don't even know. Billy Zane is a weird loony toons caricature as Virgil, a stuffy old spook with a plummy upper crust accent and some... wardrobe issues. He's paired with Eastern European psycho Dragan (the always excellent Karel Roden) and the two literally spend their portion of the film bickering, cat fighting and squabbling, having actually no real interaction or function with the plot. Oh well, they're amusing if nothing else. There's also a brief appearance from Terence Stamp, who classes up the affair as Samuel Fish, a shady businessman with a vaguely coherent part to play in the madness. It's all very strange and seems assured that it knows what it's doing and where it's going, even if at times the audience has not a clue. On the plus side, this is the only film I can think of where you can behold Gary Oldman break out into a musical number whilst tied down by a 250 pound S&M hooker. Yikes. Keep your ears peeled for a sonic little score from Groove Armada as well.

I don't know why there are so many people hating on this movie. There are a few things I don't like about it either (the language being the main one), but that doesn't mean I find it all around "a waste of time". I think this movie is hilarious and fast paced. I like Gary Oldman and Robert Carlyle, and this movie did not lower my opinion of either. Those who let a simple movie lower their opinions of certain actors need to look at the bigger picture. They're ACTORS. Just because you don't like a character they play doesn't mean you have to stop liking them. In fact, to do that is just immature. There are bigger problems in this world than that. That said, I like this movie. I know it's not the best movie out there, but it's not the crap so many other people think it is. Oldman and Carlyle rock! -Amanda

How is this possible! Such good examples (Lock Stock, Snatch, Trainspotting) aplenty, plus some top actors on the roll and then this crap is the result... If Lock Stock etc. wouldn't have existed, this movie would be quarter-way viewable, but *having seen* the good examples in this genre, the movie has become unbearable. All the copy work, so many examples to choose from, aarghh.Moreso, if this film would have existed *before* Lock Stock, Snatch etcetera, it still would have damaged the genre to an extend that people may have had hesitations to go and watch Lock Stock etc. as 'not again, please' still ringing in their heads, only to discover after 10 minutes that it *is* possible to make something brilliant of a Cockney Caper Comedy, as Guy Ritchie has proved - luckily.Avoid, avoid, and watch the good examples instead!!