Shiner (2000)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

John Irvin

Writer:

Scott Cherry (writer)

Release Date:

13 July 2001 (Spain)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Tagline:

All That's Left Is... Revenge.

Plot:

The past catches up with a ruthlessly ambitious boxing promoter.

Plot Keywords:

Promoter | Boxing | Illegal Game | Limousine | Based On Play

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Billy 'Shiner' Simpson
Martin Landau	...	Frank Spedding
Frances Barber	...	Georgie
Frank Harper	...	Jeff 'Stoney' Stone
Andy Serkis	...	Mel
Claire Rushbrook	...	Ruth
Danny Webb	...	Karl
Matthew Marsden	...	Eddie 'Golden Boy' Simpson
Kenneth Cranham	...	Gibson
David Kennedy	...	Chris
Peter Wight	...	Det. Insp. Grant
Nicola Walker	...	Det. Sgt. Garland
Gary Lewis	...	Vic
Derrick Harmon	...	Michael 'Mikey' Peck
Josephine Butler	...	Stephanie

Also Known As:

King Swanny (UK) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, pervasive language and some nudity.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | UK:15 (re-rating) (2007) (cut) | New Zealand:R18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Norway:15 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:R (certificate #37663)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Geoff Reeve Films

Trivia:

The flag on the wall of Mel's bedroom is the national flag of Angola.

Soundtrack:

In the Mood

A cockney Lear with the gloves off

Michael Caine and producer Geoffrey Reeve's frequent collaborations usually result in exponentially bad cable-movie-lite style movies (The Whistle-Blower, Half Moon Street), so it's a surprise how effective much of Shiner is, especially since it comes from the usually disappointing John Irvin and was part of the tidal wave of British gangster movies that flooded the market post-Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. The first hour is often very good indeed as Caine's vicious illegal fight promoter finally gets his day in the sun with his first legit fight that could see his own son on the way to a title fight. The kind of guy who makes the National lottery show look tasteful and who'll have your arm broken if he thinks you've shortchanged him, he bulldozes his way through the preparations, not letting little things like a police investigation into a fighter's death or his son's nerves standing in his way, literally betting everything - including his children's houses – on his boy winning. Naturally he's heading for a big fall, with shades of King Lear en route with his two daughters squabbling over family loyalty vs. Shiner pissing away the kids' inheritance (not helped by Francis Barber's terrible performance as a grotesquely caricatured Regan and Goneril in one). The last 40 minutes when everything goes horribly wrong don't work nearly as well, though the revelation at the end is suitably banal - no real conspiracy, merely the consequence of Shiner's hubris - even if the final gunplay seems a little overblown, but Caine's powerhouse turn makes it well worth a look.