Bodywork (1999)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

Gareth Rhys Jones

Writer:

Gareth Rhys Jones (writer)

Genre:

Crime

Tagline:

Drive carefully, live dangerously.

Plot Keywords:

Framed For Murder | Prostitute | One Word Title | Car Thief | Independent Film

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Hans Matheson	...	Virgil Guppy
Charlotte Coleman	...	Tiffany Shades
Wendy Cooper	...	Prostitute
Peter Ferdinando	...	Alex Gordon
Beth Winslet	...	Fiona Money
Lynda Bellingham	...	Poppy Fields
Clive Russell	...	Billy Hunch
Michael Attwell	...	David Leer
Peter Moreton	...	Buddy Lear
Simon Gregor	...	Legal
Jordan Maxwell	...	Dolittle Shades
Grahame Fox	...	Danny Sparks
Jeremy Clyde	...	Boss
Frank Mills	...	Sydney Greengrass
Velibor Topic	...	Rudi Scott

MPAA:

Rated R for language, violence, sexuality and drug use.

Runtime:

92 min | Argentina:93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:M | UK:18 | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

East End, London, England, UK

Company:

Automatic Pilot Ltd.

Quotes:

Billy Hunch: [questioning a murder suspect's girlfriend] Do you remember Mr. Guppy saying anything strange that night?
Fiona Money: 'I'm a green oblong with rounded edges.'

Soundtrack:

Traffic

Worst film released in 2000 easily

Contains some spoilage

I have never seen a film made from such a bad screenplay. Never. First drafts are often shot in the UK but Bodywork's script isn't nearly competent enough to be called a first draft.

I've tried to make excuses for Gareth Rhys Jones. Perhaps he couldn't afford screenwriting courses or books - or Internet access to get free courses and books on the web. But when it comes down to it there is no excuse.

The script has so many flaws that it would be easier to list what it gets right rather than list all that's wrong. On the plus side the characters are distinctive and the hero undergoes a change. That's it. Unfortunately the characters and the hero's change are still shockingly unrealistic and badly done.

The film is promoted as being about someone being framed for murder. If you wanted to get rid of Virgil would you a) kill Virgil or b) kill an innocent stranger instead and frame Virgil for the murder so he goes to prison? The entire world chooses a) but Rhys Jones chooses b). Just when you're trying to work out why the antagonist would do something like that he's been killed. Does this set the movie off in a radical new direction? Not exactly. He was killed by a new antagonist doing exactly the same thing - killing people to incriminate our hero. (Although revealingly on the official website Rhys Jones calls this new killer a 'protagonist')

When we find out who the baddie is and they're asked why they did it - they say "because I can". That's it. That's the reason. That's how little Rhys Jones cares about his audience.

The one thing that can help save a badly plotted film is the dialogue but even that is beyond awful. It's dull and on-the-nose and sometimes very embarrassing especially in the "white room" - where we flashback from - as the characters talk about their relationship with the hero.

Screenwriting of such low standards doesn't deserve the quality cast it managed to attract and it certainly doesn't deserve an audience. The only people who should see this film are casting agents.