153. Once Upon A Time In London; movie review

ONCE UPON A TIME IN LONDON
Cert 18
109 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence

Here we go again... a low-budget British film-maker rolls out yet another blood-spattered movie about crime gangs in the south-east.
Its producers had aspirations for Once Upon A Time In London to be a cross between Legend and Peaky Blinders.
I am afraid it falls at the first fence because it has neither the quality of cast nor the money to back up such lofty comparisons.
Thus, they attempt to compensate with a tide of tomato sauce.
Terry Stone, a regular in London crime-gang films, plays Jack 'Spot' Comer, who grows in infamy after fighting Oswald Mosely's black shirts in the 1930s and 40s.
He portrays him as having a screw so loose that a flick of a switch could lead him to mayhem.
Comer sets out to be king of the underworld, making much of his money from being in control of illegal betting.
One of his proteges was Billy Hill (Leo Gregory), who, after initially seeming to be a staunch ally in the battle against other gangs, begins to have ambitions of his own.
Anyway, between them and others, Comer and Hill lay the foundations for the Krays and the Richardsons with a swathe of aggro, madness and a thirst to be top dog.
I have to admit that I have never understood the lionising of these bully-boys who were responsible for brutal protection rackets, vicious lawbreaking, corruption and treating women as playthings.
But, putting aside my feelings about the subject matter, Simon Rumley's film might have worked if it had been blessed with a bigger budget and a tighter cast.
But Stone is no Tom Hardy and, despite his ranting and raving, doesn't have the screen presence to carry a movie.
Gregory is a tad more convincing but his role really needs someone with greater gravitas.
And, in my view, whatever the movie, extreme violence is never going to plug the gap of so-so acting.

Reasons to watch: True story of the London crime gangs before the Krays and Richardsons
Reasons to avoid: The lack of quality of its acting 

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 5/10

Did you know? In 1956, Home Secretary Gwilym Lloyd George authorised the tapping of Billy Hill's phone in one of the first covert operations of its type in the UK.

The final word. Simon Rumley: "Here was a cultural treasure trove that British history seems to have excised from all memory. Let’s face it Jack and Billy are just two of the most brilliant characters any writer/director could wish for. You spend your whole life dreaming someone will come along, hand you a script, ask you if you would like to direct it and that’s what happened here."

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