Shopping (1994)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Paul W.S. Anderson

Writer:

Paul W.S. Anderson (written by)

Release Date:

9 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Action | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Crash & Carry

Plot:

Lone group of teens, led by recently released joyrider and his disenchanted Belfast girlfriend, strives...

Plot Keywords:

Shop | Police | Joyriding | England | Thief

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Sadie Frost	...	Jo
Jude Law	...	Billy
Sean Pertwee	...	Tommy
Fraser James	...	Be Bop
Sean Bean	...	Venning
Marianne Faithfull	...	Bev
Jonathan Pryce	...	Conway
Daniel Newman	...	Monkey (as Danny Newman)
Lee Whitlock	...	Pony
Ralph Ineson	...	Dix
Eamonn Walker	...	Peters (as Eammon Walker)
Jason Isaacs	...	Market Trader
Chris Constantinou	...	Yuppie
Tilly Vosburgh	...	Mrs. Taylor
Melanie Hill	...	Sarah

Runtime:

105 min | USA:87 min | Argentina:106 min

Country:

UK | Japan

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:16 | Iceland:12 | Australia:MA | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | Argentina:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Trellick Tower, Golborne Road, Notting Hill, London, England, UK

Company:

Channel Four Films

Trivia:

According to Paul W.S. Anderson, Ewan McGregor was down to the final two for the role of Billy before finally losing out to Jude Law.

Quotes:

Billy: I know my rights. I watch L.A.Law.
Police Inspector: Is that supposed to be funny?
Billy: No, more like comedy-drama.

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

This is no joy ride...

Despite a fairly respectable cast – hampered as always by a performance of school-play standards from Jude Law – Shopping is something of a mess. Less than fifteen years old, and yet looking more dated than films twice its age, Shopping has no real story to tell, a bunch of moronic characters – who are still, somehow, able to run rings around the police – and truly awful dialogue. What story there is revolves around Billy (Law), a bolshy teenager who we meet as he is released from prison. 'What has prison taught you, Billy?" police officer Jonathan Pryce asks our anti-hero and, given that this was the opening dialogue, I prayed that Billy wouldn't say 'don't get caught'. But he did. He went and said it, and my hopes plummeted.

Before you know it, Law has hooked up with girlfriend Jo (Sadie Frost, who at least brings some feistiness to her role) and is stealing BMWs so that he can engage the dim-witted police in a few car chases on the strangely deserted roads. We're given little sense of place because of Anderson's stylistic whims and misguided attempts to create atmospheric scenarios, which leaves us struggling to get into the story and, thanks to Law's insipid interpretation of an already bland and stereotypical character, it's impossible to identify with either Billy or the situations in which he finds himself. On the strength of this early outing for both actors, you would have expected Sean Pertwee to go on to a more successful career than Law. In writer-director Anderson's defence, it has to be said that this is his first attempt, and he does at least possess a keen eye for an arresting image but, on the strength of rubbish like this, it's little wonder that Film Four went out of business.