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Sugarhouse

2/10

Stars: Ashley Walters, Steven Mackintosh, Andy Serkis

Director: Gary Love

Desperately lucky to escape with a 15 certificate in the UK, this lowlife drama set in an East End (of London) council estate finds Tom (Mackintosh) approaching crack addict D (overacted by Walters) for something he wants - a gun.

What he doesn't know is that D, who owes money, has stolen it from the local psycho bigshot (wildly overplayed by Serkis in a poor man's version of Michael Chiklis from TV's The Shield). In a ludicrous plot contrivance, D, who wants *800pounds (sounds a lot) for the gun, refuses the remaining 750pounds on the grounds that the downpayment of 50pounds was merely a sign of good faith, and he wants 50pounds more (so much for good faith).

OK, we have to have a story, and the film is under enough strain to carry its one-act plot past 90 minutes as it is.

Lots of drugs, cursing and (especially) bloody violence ensue, with repeated dialogue and protracted stand-offs driving you crazy. It still looks like the stage play it began life as, and director Love doesn't always achieve the fluidity needed to translate it to screen. In the company's production notes, Walters says he would encourage 'youth and kids' to see the film. We hope and pray he's joking.

* Sorry, our computer system cannot do pound signs (or foreign accents); it converts them to question marks...

David Quinlan

UK 2007. UK Distributor: Slingshot/BBC4. Colour.
91 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 2, Swearing 2.

Review date: 19 Aug 2007