The Business Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
This firm will blow you away
Frankie, a young lad on the run from the grimy ghetto of South London, plans his escape and the beginnings of a new life in sunny Spain - the Costa Del Sol to be more precise. Armed with nothing but a bundle of cash stashed in his luggage he heads off, yet Frankie has no idea that this sum of money will catapult him into the seductive world of ex-gangster Charlie. Before he knows it Frankie's got more then he bargained for - he's one of Charlie's gang and slap bang in the middle of the heady world of organized crime.
| Danny Dyer | Frankie |
| Tamer Hassan | Charlie |
| Geoff Bell | Sammy |
| Georgina Chapman | Carly |
| Paul Burns | The Chef |
| James Hagger | Van Security Guard |
| Roland Manookian | Sonny |
| Martin Marquez | Pepe |
| Michael Maxwell | Jimmy |
| Dan Mead | Danny |
| Andy Parfitt | Andy |
| David Spratt | Clubber |
| Arturo Venegas | Mayor |
| Eddie Webber | Ronnie |
| Camille Coduri | Nora |
| Nick Love |
6.50 out of 10 (2230 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Not a gangster film, but a film film
posted on 08 Aug 2009Basically, i thoroughly disagree with the foremost comment about this movie. It opens appallingly - incredibly badly shot and clumsily dreamlike - and with no explanation of early events - why Frankie's mother is being beaten, who this mysterious benefactor who sends him to Spain is - the opening of the movie may as well be disregarded as the most awful premise imaginable. Indeed the writer himself appears to forget this premise later in the movie - when Frankie is scared out of Charlie's operation and is intending to return to England, plane ticket in hand and has a convenient change of heart but ACTUALLY he CANT go back to england because he's WANTED FOR MURDER back there. Massive plot-hole, clearly exposing the weakness of the main plot premise. Having said all this though, the actual body of the film is fantastic - wooden acting early on (alright Frankie get in the motor alright john we're having a party later alright Charlie alright then let's go alright it's john's wife oi oi etc) is replaced by some daring performances once the grittier plot content is revealed and a more telling and human story than the gangster premise allows for. Serious laughs come not from the dodgy one-liners (which personally felt poorly delivered - in fact, all of Frankie's narration should be done away with for a director's cut) but from elaborate comic situations well-written (the scene in the Mayor's office with Sonny had me in serious stitches, as did Charlie's "comeback" party.) The comic element coupled with extremely dramatic and knowingly human and realist content are the strengths of this movie, rather than its terrible opening and series of very poor narrative sequences and faux-south east London one-liners.
Did someone order a....
posted on 23 Jun 2009I'm only jumping in here because almost all the reviewers here are British. As an expat American settled in Australia, I have to tell you that I enjoyed this very much.Well, I did have to turn it up pretty loud to catch the dialog, not being too accustomed to decoding Pommy accents. That wasn't really a drawback, even if it might have been for my neighbours.Fortunately, I wasn't expecting anything going in; if I was looking for another "Goodfellas" I would have been disappointed. This film doesn't need to be held up against anything else, it can stand up on its own.I didn't see any reason why these gangsters self-exiled in Spain couldn't be the real thing. It all looked entirely plausible to me.I enjoyed it just as much as "Rollin with the Nines" which also got trashed pretty badly by the natives. But with no reason to pick holes in it, it came across to me as very gritty and real. Same here. And some of the one-liners are absolutely precious.The idea is to escape for an hour and a half. It worked.
Excellent!
posted on 03 Jun 2009I'm a big fan of danny dyer ; he is a great actor. His films are usually directed by Nick love and this appears to be a successful formula, for both of them. The business follows the same formula as football factory and previous dyer\love titles . Dyer is a London Kid growing up on a run down estate spending his days playing 'donkey kong' and smoking Pott.Then ,as luck has it, he gets the opportunity from a dying man to deliver a parcel to a 'Playboy' in the Costa del sol. With no other offers jumping out he grabs the invite and Hes on the plane, bag in hand. The story starts here... i wont continue because its beautiful and i don't want to spoil it. Go watch this flick or hire it.
English Gangster Flick with no plot, acting or direction
posted on 26 May 2009This is just barely entertaining enough to continue watching it to see if it gets better. It doesn't. There are some crusty characters but none of them are well acted enough to really keep your attention. I think the makers of this film realized that and blared 80's tunes throughout the movie to give a bit more appeal and a kick to an otherwise boring film. This is about Frankie who falls in with some limey gangsters in Spain. This movie is poorly shot. The action scenes are boring, the sex scenes aren't sexy and the rest of it is stale as well. If you really really liked "sexy beast" and wanted to meet it's less talented ugly brother- well mate, this is it! When watching this film I couldn't help but count the many other films that did all of this so much better. Layer cake, sexy beast, lock stock and two smoking barrels and snatch to name a few. All are much better choices than this.
Now this is how a glamorous gangster fairytale should look!
posted on 20 May 2009Now, Nick Love has made the ultimate - British - interpretation of Ted Demme's "Blow" (2001). Both films shares a contra-interactive perspective into the past of the characters. The era reflected in this movie takes place a bit earlier than in Blow's seventies, while here presenting the snow white 80's. I'm not sure if there's any truth behind this story, was the London really covered with cocaine back in the 80's? I was just born back then so I don't really know too much about it, he he.Anyways, this is a really great film. I've seen a couple of UK movies lately ("Layer Cake" before this one), and I find them really amusing. There should really be more UK movies reflecting mobster life, it's really cool. Dunno if it's their accent or the style in general, but in one way it seems to be more 'alive' than in the US Hollywood productions.Furthermore, Danny Dyer makes a real good working-himself-up-through-the-ladder guy, would really enjoy seeing him more on the screen. A few funny dialogs in the movie which I can't forget, especially when he's getting nagged by the women towards the end, hr hr..Great film!
Great wardrobe
posted on 23 Mar 2009A must see for all of the burberry and SI generation, after picking up on football factory. This movie is a GTA vice city (in which Danny Dyer stars as well, funny) meets Football Factory, doesn't come near Sexy Beast story wise, but is a good watch for a period that is clear of any activity. Has a high quotes potential, kids in Europe just love those riming slang one-liners and they are present in abundance. Why only a 6 from me? A bit too much is taken from previous hit (football factory) The director's favorite computer game becomes very obvious after a while (GTA:Vice city) and, like the game, the soundtrack of the eighties is very strong and too much, too loud and too long.But it is all compensated by the setting and wardrobe, which hits the mark precisely. From Tacchini and Fila to Stan Smiths and trim trabs.In short, good fun watching, but a bit stereotypical at certain points. Not a new Scarface but more of a GTA:Vice City - the movie
An excellent gangster flick from Nick Love
posted on 15 Mar 2009Nick Love created one of the most controversial films of recent years with the football factory, shoestring and sketchy it may have been but it made an impact. The business however is a vast improvement on that film, a horribly underrated film that while unlikely to be lauded by Mark Kermode is an entertaining and enjoyable film that nails the essence of 80s cool. Nick Love directs the films as a hyper-kinetic cine dream, engulfing you in the sights , sounds and overall spirit off the 80s an era where everything drugs, fashion, music was excess. The excellent soundtrack is the type Guy Ritchie would kill for mixing nostalgia classics like Frankie goes to Hollywood with lesser known tracks and an atmospheric score. The film totally glamourizes crime , but the point its a hyper real cartoon world , a reverse cops and robbers where we root for the bad guy. And what a bad guy... Dannie Dyer creates a lovable rogue giving an amazing performance. This actor is destined to do great things. Overall a hilarious, enjoyable flick that doesn't take itself too seriously
Great actors make this one work.
posted on 11 Mar 2009"The Business" is basically your run of the mill "from rags to riches and back to the gutter"-gangster-story, that's been delivered to you since the 30's. The plot even has the femme fatal, which is desired by the hero, but "belongs" to his nemesis. The drug-trafficking, partying and cocaine sniffing is shown here in a realistic way, which isn't something one should take for granted. Memorable is a disturbing image of a head on a stake, which comes quiet surprising and shocking. All 4 lead actors (and even some of the others) deliver 100% and are great to watch. Geoff Bell in particular gives a real terrifying performance. What a great face!He could be a James Bond from hell.But as i said, they're all worth the time watching this. The general plot is very weak, though, and the ending is rather disappointing. The final clash between the hero and his tormentor under a sewer is rather ridiculous and gives the impression of being created in lack of better ideas. The payoff is very weak. If you can live with that, "The Business" is great fun, but not a good movie.
Truly Awful
posted on 01 Mar 2009As far as Brit Crime films go,this has to be the final scraping of the barrel. One of the clunkiest, poorly written scripts ever committed to celluloid, the cast come straight from the bargain bucket section of 'Cockney Geezers' - even the female characters' dialogue is laden with "Cor, blimey, you're 'avin' a larf, aintcha, you slaaaggggg" clichés. The unconvincing plot, pacing, structure, narrative style have been lifted wholesale from Goodfellas, Lock Stock..., and Sexy Beast, without much effort to change, elaborate or even just come up with a fresh idea. Though this may be lost on non-UK residents, the whole sorry affair smacks of the short-lived and much-mocked 90s soap Eldorado. It's apparent 80s setting is only evinced by the woeful soundtrack - Buggles, Soft Cell, Duran Duran, et-clichéd-cetera - and the fact that they're all clad in Sergio Taccini and Fila sportswear. An extra mention should go out to the misogyny that runs throughout the film. Women are either deceitful, cold-hearted bitches or foul-mouthed harpies, and in the main are shown giving enforced oral relief to the main 'characters' - I use that word advisedly - or getting beaten to within an inch of the their lives. I sat through the premier of this last night at the Edinburgh Film Festival, and fortunately I was at the back of the cinema, as it mean my laughter and groans were for the best part muffled. Nick Love should be banned from making any more films and the cast should be ashamed of even thinking they can act. Shocking and just bad for the British film industry. I thought we'd stopped making films this awful.
Business is bad...
posted on 27 Feb 2009... for me I'm afraid.A wannabe Lock, Stock film which looks good but goes nowhere that you've not seen a hundred times before. Two biggest problems; things seem to happen for no particular reason or motivation, and some of the acting is worse than Eastenders. No offence to Danny Dyer, but birds surely don't swoon over him? He slicks back his hair, puts on a pair of tennis shorts and suddenly women (admittedly middle aged) are offering £1,000 to bed him. On the plus side the directing is OK and the photography superb. Because the film is set in the eighties you can enjoy a good laugh at the fashion, and there's a wonderful soundtrack.
Laughable
posted on 01 Feb 2009I thought Nick Love made a good film in Football Factory, but this is a massive step backwards. It's too early for an homage to Guy Richie so this can only be described as a complete rip-off. However, whereas 'Lock, Stock' and 'Snatch' were well-written, imaginative and clever stories this merely attempts to follow their formula to the letter (right down to the freeze-frame narratives), but without any of the style or wit. Even the choice of music is predictable, clumsy and over-stretched. The film jumps from the aforesaid freeze-frames to the mini-videos portraying the leads' entrance to clubs etc, but the accompanying 80's standards and the sheer volume of these shots takes away any impact the pieces might have had even if they had been included less than every five minutes.The story itself is crime film by numbers too. Local crime-boss takes young kid under wing, makes millions of pounds but then they lose the lot in just six months due to drug-use. I doubt Aerosmith could have gone through that much cash and coke in that short time, and the notion that that the baddie's girl would still have gone for the pasty-faced, broke, coke-head boy in this state would be unbelievable in any other context than this waste of tape.All that said, if you are a die-hard fan of the new wave of British gangster film, then you might get something out of this, even if it is just the knowledge that 'Face' is no longer the most forgettable example of the genre.Wait for this on satellite TV if there is absolutely nothing else to watch (I'm including Dad's Army) and in the meantime if you want to see a truly great Costa-Del-Crime movie go and rent Sexy Beast.
A haemorrhoid in the A*se of the British Film Industry
posted on 11 Dec 2008It's ironic that this film ends with two of the lead characters swimming around at the entrance to a sewer pipe, because I think that everyone involved with this dud movie is going to find out that s**t definitely sticks. Another year and another film designed to squeeze the last few drops out of the British Gangster movie genre. Words cannot describe how bad 'The Business' is. It is jam-packed with every tired gangster cliché you could imagine, from the 'snappy' title to the cheesy scraping-the-bottom-of-the-well-worn-barrel dialogue. Take this example - 'he was so hard even his nightmares were afraid of him'. WHAT???? Trust me, it sounds even worse when delivered, in voice-over, by everyones favourite one-trick-pony Danny Dyer. Now don't get me wrong, I like Danny Dyer, but I'm getting sick of his good-hearted villain routine. His repertoire is limited to say the least and I wish he would push himself beyond crap like this. However, he is not the worst. A terrible cast who are held to ransom by an appalling script. This film is a paint by numbers, lazy, cheap imitation of Sexy Beast.The business has been made to generate a quick buck from the lads mag generation who will no doubt think this film is 'shit-hot'. It's not. There are better films out there. It's scripts are pathetic. There s no real plot to the film - it really has been made for the sake of it. It's one of the worst films I have ever seen and this is from a person who managed to sit through Final Cut.
Probably One Of The Best English Films
posted on 21 Nov 2008First there was Goodbye Charlie Bright, Then Football Factory and now Danny Dyer has stared in yet another amazing film directed by the One and Only Nick Love. This movie is gripping, funny and above all brilliant. The 80's style has been done very well, with a mix of Tracksuite tops and trousers and 80's music. The acting in this film is brilliant, Danny Dyer and Tammer Hassan have worked together before so they were a perfect pair for the 2 main characters.The film is basically about a young lad (Frankie) who has grown up in a ghetto like area in South London, No job and no real future, going nowhere, until he was asked to make a delivery to one of the most richest men in Spain (Charlie), he used to live in Peckham but was on the run so he shifted his way over to Spain and started his own nightclub. When Frankie arrived to delivery the package he never thought him and Charlie would crack on so well together. Charlie made Frankie his Driver, and they soon became close friends. But then another man comes into the story, Charlies partner (Sammy) an ex-con hard man that hated Frankie from the moment they set eyes on each other. The 3 Go on to buying and dealing Cannabis by sending boats from Gebralter to Morocco but the Mayor discovers what they're doing. The Mayor allows them to Trade Cannabis over sea but he warned them that if they trade Cocaine then they're will be trouble. Frankie Charlie and Sammy go on to become very wealthy but Sammy (still holding a grudge against Frankie) decides to plant Charlies watch on Frankie, but Charlie discovers what Sammy has done and Charlie and Sammy Drift apart. Charlie and Frankie go on to dealing Cocaine which is a bad move indeed. The Mayor is hot on their trail and soon takes away EVERYTHING fro Charlie and Frankie, No Money, No Cars, no Rolex's and soon Charlie and Frankie become wrecks. Theiving and Holding Up to try and get money anyway they can. Frankie realises hes finished and decides to do one last thing before he gives up the crime business. He decides to get revenge on Sammy. He goes round Sammy's house and asks him if he wants to do a bit of work, says that they're is a coke drop down on the beach, so Sammy and Frankie head down the beach and await the drop of coke. But what Sammy doesn't know is that this is all a plot and Frankie bashes Sammy round the head repeatedly with a rock and kills him.I Have basically just dictated the entire film in a nut shell so if what you read above looks interesting then i Strongly recommend buying this film upon its release.9/10 - TOP NOTCH STUFF!
Funny very funny.
posted on 19 Nov 2008This film looks as a personal aspect of 80's drug Traficing on the Costa Del sol. The actors are bad they wear bad clothes, they talk dirt, and the music is cheesy 80s rubbish, The director caught the 80s perfectly bringing all the things you remember (and try to forget) from the 80s to the screen. This is one of the funnest movies i have seen in a while, right from the beginning it starts off as a classic (if a bit cheesy) gangster film. This is more of a realistic look at some small time British gangsters than most British gangster films before, making it a bit grittyer than manny of the British gangster films prior to this. But the thing i liked most about it was It kept me and my friends laughing in the isles from start to end.
Nick Love is a genius!!
posted on 09 Nov 2008I've seen most films staring Danny Dyer and loved them all, this one did not disappoint, and Danny's co-star Tamer Hassan was also fantastic, I had seen him when he appeared in football factory (another great Nick Love film) and was excited to know two of my favourite characters were getting together to make this film. I went in expecting so much and got a lot more. The location, script and story were all excellent and Nick Love done another amazing job of giving the audience exactly what they wanted. Can not praise this film enough for entertainment and leaving the audience with something to think about. Any film with Nick Loves name in is going to be just as good as the last and always manages to take it to the next level even when I thought it could go no more!!
This film will blow you away!
posted on 08 Sep 2008I saw this film not too long ago. I must admit, it's one of the best films, or in fact, the best British Gangster films I've seen since THE LONG GOOD Friday..What I like about it was the idea was set in the 80's during the days when Fromer Prime Minister Margeret Thatcher ruled the UK. Nick Love who wrote and directed this flick, certainly gave me (the viewer) the thumbs up! Nick just did it as like 'he'd tell it like it is..'DANNY DYER who I rarely see, did a good performance playing Frankie.. At first, his character was just a lousy waster, living in South London with his parents. No wonder his Dad was such a drunken sod. But at least, Frankie told him he was gonna 'be someone'.. and he did!TAMER HUSSAIN who plays Charlie, was also good. I see him as a tough nut who's been there and done that. But living in the Costa Del Sol kind of changed his life a bit. OK! So the guy lived a life of crime but he still does what he does over in Sunny Spain.GEOFF BELL who plays Sammy.. He was excellent. What I like about Geoff, his performance as Sammy was well mean and solid. He has this kind of stonefaced look, that kind of gives me the feeling that this guy didn't want to be messed around with. This guy was like something out of the Goodfellas movie.. Probably in the lines of Joe Pesci or Ray Liotta. But he really delivered it very well..NICK LOVE, the director.. did an amazing job on entertaining me with this flick. At least, he knew what ideas he had in his head in order to capture the essence of the 80's. The 80's in them days really did had some good tunes along the lines of Frankie goes to Hollywood, David Bowie, OMD, Blondie, Loose Ends, etc.. I couldn't stop listening to the radio during them days.. It kind of overtaken my school life.. Every time, I did my homework.. I try and do it first thing when I get home.. and then switch on the radio to listen to them cool tunes..After all, it was a very good film. I reckon Nick Love nailed it right dead in the centre.. He really made a good effort of capturing the whole vibe of the 80's which took me back to my days at school. I had many good memories.. I won't say much about it. But it does bring you back.. even when you say 'where were you during the 80's?'This film surely blew me away.. 9 out of 10! Good effort!
What a Film
posted on 18 Jul 2008i really loved this film, i thought the casting was fantastic. Geoff Bell who plays Sammy was superb, although if you watch the deleted scenes on the DVD it paints a better picture of him, how funny he was about cleanliness and how he picked on Frankie - Buy the DVD to see what i mean.Tamar Hussan was also superb as the Playboy, what a great actor and Danny Dyer is flawless as Frankie, this guy has a big future in the film business.What a great mixture of comedy and action, great use of colour and some of the shots are fantastic. i can't believe it only cost 2 million to make this movie, the Crew did an awesome job in making it look like a bigger budget movie. it won't suit everyone, but it's worth a look. the attention to detail from the 80's is great, it brought back loads of memories and i went and bought 4 Filia tops after seeing this, sad i know.this is one of my fave films, Nick love should do a spec edition with the deleted scenes, A hardcore edition. if you listen to the commentary ( which i never do but did with this) Nick and Danny talk about lot's of extra scenes which are not on the DVD.
Loved it!
posted on 08 Jul 2008I loved this film, the music and the costumes, just caught the feel of the 80s and got it spot on.Yes, none of the actors are that well known, but then in my book thats a good thing, I don't go into the film with any pre conceived ideas.And yes sometimes the language does cut very close to the bone, but these people are hardened criminals, and its a 18 cert as well, so that should give you some idea of the content.I say go and see it, and just enjoy yourself and have a few laughs for 2 hours.And did i mention the sound track, dust off those shell suits and enjoy.
A bit clichéd
posted on 06 Jul 2008I found this film to be just as i expected: corny with the clichéd 'im a hard boy with a dream from London' approach. The film follows a generally similar path to that of 'the football factory' (which is also written and directed by Nick Love) and it is very easy to notice the same style of direction in both movies. Whilst the direction is not a particularly weak aspect of the film (after all, Mr Love is clearly doing something right...) some of the acting is. Danny dyer (who was one of the stand out actors in 'mean machine') seems to have been typecast as a 'good hearted boy with confused morals'. Geoff Bell on the other hand, clearly has a nack for playing the man everybody hates but is too afraid to say it. However, the film manages to stay just above water due to some nice photography, georgina chapman in a swim suit and a fairly passable ending..that is, excluding the end dialogue.
Not a great reflection of British talent
posted on 18 Aug 2009Although the lads' magazines applauded Nick Love's story of Costa del crime in the Eighties, the biggest surprise for me was that when the credits finally rolled, only 97 minutes had passed.Danny Dyer plays south-London wideboy Frankie who wants to escape his grimy surroundings and be somebody. When he kills his mum's abuser, a connected wiseguy offers him a new life in Spain. All he has to do is deliver a parcel to a 'friend' and keep his eyes and mouth shut.Charlie (Tamer Hassan), a notorious gangster on the run from the law takes Frankie under his wing and shows him the high life of all night parties and countless women. At first, Frankie resists crossing over to the dark side of crime, but the thought of going back to nothing puts him on the path to destruction.Dyer delivers his full acting repertoire of cheek, street smart and confused conscience, as he moves from wannabe to major player in the drug trade. Trying to emulate Goodfellas (1990) by having the actor narrate his journey is a major stumbling block. Voiceovers should be used sparingly and having to hear what we're already seeing is needless and eventually annoying.There is a strong sense of realism in the portrayal of the London gangsters and the peroxide blondes who follow in their wake. None of them are likable and you believe that they wouldn't hesitate in blowing you away. The theme of greed and power tallies with the yuppie money grabbing decade, when cocaine became the major drug in the city bars and party circuits.Frankie and Charlie are on top of the world but the classic gangster arc dictates that everything must come to an end. Their bond cast adrift Charlie's psychotic business partner Sammy (Geoff Bell), who can't handle being left out or the way Frankie looks at his girl Carly (Georgina Chapman). And when they move from cannabis to cocaine their political protection provided by the mayor is vanquished.Drug dealing is all about hard cash and without it they're nothing. The message behind the film is that once you're set on the path of crime you don't want to get off. No matter what.The musical score and style captures an 80's feel and Nick Love clearly has a Scorsese feeling of devotion and disgust for gangsters. Despite its foreign location, the Business sticks to its native roots and doesn't try to suggest that criminal life is made up of organised crime families with codes of honour.Like Henry Hill and Tony Montana, the addiction of cocaine is too much to resist and their decline is mirrored by the constant snorts of the white powder. The climax has Frankie realising that Charlie is a has been and his future lies elsewhere, but first he has to do a deal with the devil - Carly the femme fatale - and see if he can come out alive and eventually be somebody.