City Rats (2009)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Steve Kelly

Writer:

Simon Fantauzzo (writer)

Release Date:

24 April 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Life isn't like it is in the movies...

Plot:

Eight lost souls search for solutions to problems ranging from finding a better suicide method, to defeating creative block, to losing their virginity.

Plot Keywords:

Gay | Virginity | Lost Son | Redemption | Watermelon

Cast

Tamer Hassan	...	Jim
Danny Dyer	...	Pete
Ray Panthaki	...	Dean
Susan Lynch	...	Gina
Kenny Doughty	...	Olly
James Lance	...	Chris
MyAnna Buring	...	Sammy
Natasha Williams	...	Carol
Jake Canuso	...	Marco Harper
Richard Mylan	...	Ash
James Doherty	...	Trevor
Philip Herbert	...	John the Cowboy
Katrine De Candole	...	Chloe
Vyelle Croom	...	Darryl
Emily Bowker	...	Carla

Runtime:

UK:100 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (Dolby 5.1)

Certification:

UK:15

Company:

Face Films

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Loose Women: (#13.160)" (2009)

Dull, weird and seemingly pointless?

Quite simply, everyone who is a fan of the works of Danny Dyer and Tamer Hasan should be warned that this is NOT in the same mould. Personally, i found Football Factory and The Business highly entertaining, so imagine my optimism when i saw City Rats on DVD, with Dyer on the front cover holding a revolver.

The film basically tells a series of mini-stories about various characters and their everyday struggle through their respective lives. Thrown into the mix are a recovering alcoholic, a prostitute, a mentally challenged man hiding homosexual tendencies, two depressed people on the verge of suicide, and various other people who don't appear to be enjoying life all that much.

This is without doubt the least enjoyable movie i have ever seen. I found the plot dull, the various characters' sub-stories uninteresting and the dialogue tediously slow. I spent the whole 94 minutes waiting for something interesting to happen. It never came. In short, there did not seem to be any actual point to this film.

The fact that the back of the DVD (UK version) draws comparisons to Pulp Fiction is verging on criminal, in my opinion.

For me, the only plus would be that the standard of acting is decent and the British cast is strong. But the storyline, subject matter and script just don't do it for me i'm afraid.

2/10