Snow In Paradise (18.)
Directed by Andrew Hulme.
Starring Frederich Schmidt, Martin Askew, Aymen Hamdouchi, Claire-Louise Cordwell and David Spinx. 108 mins.
Being the tale of Dave, a crack smoking, coke dealing, East End wideboy and wannabe gangster who ends up embracing Islam, Snow In Paradise seems to be intent on making life hard for itself. It's got a terrible title, is another Lundun gangster film and is a sympathetic portrayal of Islam at a time when maybe audiences aren't feeling particularly receptive to that message.
Despite all that, the debut film by the editor of Control and The American really has a lot going for it. It has a great sense of place and is powered along by some really phenomenally good performances. In the lead role of Dave, Schmidt has a ferocious and compelling screen presence that brings to mind Tom Hardy at his best – not bad for an art technician who was discovered standing in the street smoking a cigarette on his lunch break after arguing with his boss. The other outstanding performance is Askew as Uncle Jimmy, the sinister gang land boss that Dave wants to get in with. Askew is the co screenwriter and the film is based (loosely: names and crimes have been altered to protect the guilty, and themselves) on his life story.
What the film really cracks is that delicate balance between being real and yet being filmic. British cinema is plagued with bogus social realism, but this manages to put grim reality on the screen without making it look ridiculous. Often the film seems to be ghosting through scenes you've seen before, moments from Performance or a Guy Ritchie; done without gloss but still theatrical. For example, softly spoken menace is an overworked cliché but Askew really makes it work here. He delivers his lines in a thin, flat, little voice that suggests a totally emptiness and gives it a truly horrific edge.
The plot sees Dave flit between various creeds and father figures. Two “uncles” Jimmy and Micky (Spinx, also terrific) vie for his services, his devotion; the code of the family and the bonds of the gangsters are contrasted with the rules of Islam. He turns to Islam in repentance for his part in a murder; to get clean and spurred on at his revulsion at the gentrification of Hoxton. The film's message is either unclear or subtle. By the end you wonder if Dave, for all his bravado, isn't just a weak individual who'll always end up falling in meekly with any system that will take him.
Snow In Paradise (18.)
Directed by Andrew Hulme.
Starring Frederich Schmidt, Martin Askew, Aymen Hamdouchi, Claire-Louise Cordwell and David Spinx. 108 mins.
Being the tale of Dave, a crack smoking, coke dealing, East End wideboy and wannabe gangster who ends up embracing Islam, Snow In Paradise seems to be intent on making life hard for itself. It's got a terrible title, is another Lundun gangster film and is a sympathetic portrayal of Islam at a time when maybe audiences aren't feeling particularly receptive to that message.
Despite all that, the debut film by the editor of Control and The American really has a lot going for it. It has a great sense of place and is powered along by some really phenomenally good performances. In the lead role of Dave, Schmidt has a ferocious and compelling screen presence that brings to mind Tom Hardy at his best – not bad for an art technician who was discovered standing in the street smoking a cigarette on his lunch break after arguing with his boss. The other outstanding performance is Askew as Uncle Jimmy, the sinister gang land boss that Dave wants to get in with. Askew is the co screenwriter and the film is based (loosely: names and crimes have been altered to protect the guilty, and themselves) on his life story.
What the film really cracks is that delicate balance between being real and yet being filmic. British cinema is plagued with bogus social realism, but this manages to put grim reality on the screen without making it look ridiculous. Often the film seems to be ghosting through scenes you've seen before, moments from Performance or a Guy Ritchie; done without gloss but still theatrical. For example, softly spoken menace is an overworked cliché but Askew really makes it work here. He delivers his lines in a thin, flat, little voice that suggests a totally emptiness and gives it a truly horrific edge.
The plot sees Dave flit between various creeds and father figures. Two “uncles” Jimmy and Micky (Spinx, also terrific) vie for his services, his devotion; the code of the family and the bonds of the gangsters are contrasted with the rules of Islam. He turns to Islam in repentance for his part in a murder; to get clean and spurred on at his revulsion at the gentrification of Hoxton. The film's message is either unclear or subtle. By the end you wonder if Dave, for all his bravado, isn't just a weak individual who'll always end up falling in meekly with any system that will take him.
