The first trailers for a couple of very different imminent British movies have appeared, and, to varying degrees, both show some promise. First up is “Heartless,” the eagerly anticipated horror thriller from controversial playwright Philip Ridley, marking his return to the big screen for the first time since “The Passion of Darkly Noon.” The film stars Jim Sturgess as Jamie, a young East Londoner with a heart-shaped birthmark on his face. A wave of crime committed by hooded youths in demon masks is sweeping the area, and when his mother is killed, Jamie swears vengeance, but finds that something much darker is going on.
We’ve read Ridley’s script, and are big fans – it’s fiercely original, very dark, and should prove a strong showcase for Sturgess, as well as the excellent supporting cast, which features Clemence Poesy (“In Bruges”), Noel Clarke (“Doctor Who”), Joseph Mawle (“Red Riding”), Eddie Marsan (“Happy-Go-Lucky”), Luke Treadaway (“Clash of the Titans”) and the great Timothy Spall. Word from early screenings has been very strong, and this trailer certainly suggests why, with strong visuals rare in British genre pictures, and what looks to be an excellent feel for its location (this writer’s own neck of the woods, and rarely depicted outside gangster cliches on film). There’s no word on a US release, but it’s out in the UK on May 21st, and will hit DVD and on-demand the following Monday — a perplexing move for something that appears to have genuine potential to be a crossover hit.
Next up is “The Infidel,” a comedy written by novelist and stand-up comic David Baddiel, as a vehicle for Iranian-born comedian Omid Djalili – a familiar face to US audiences from the likes of “The Mummy,” “Gladiator” and “Casanova.” Djalili plays Mahmud, a devout Muslim in London who discovers that he’s adopted, and that his birth parents are actually Jewish. It’s high concept, but we’re pleasantly surprised by the trailer, which has a handful of decent off-color laughs (it doesn’t seem to be pulling its punches, even if it’s no “Four Lions”), with a vibe vaguely reminiscent of early, good Albert Brooks movies. Plus, it gets an instant pass for featuring Toby from “The West Wing,” the great Richard Schiff, who seems to have good chemistry with Djalili. Archie Panjabi, who’s playing one of the more interesting characters on network TV, on CBS’ “The Good Wife” at the moment, also appears.
We’re still a bit wary of this one – the success rate of British TV comedy stars to film is a slim one, with only the “Spaced” team crossing over successfully with “Shaun of the Dead,” which stands above the tattered corpses of terrible films like “Magicians,” “Lesbian Vampire Killers” and “Sex Lives of the Potato Men,” which fortunately rarely see release in the States. But this already looks far more promising than those (it’s from director Josh Appignanesi, who was behind the rather good Orthodox Jewish drama “Song of Songs”), and we’ll report back closer to the film’s UK release on April 23rd.
