Spivs DVD Review:

Jack (Stott), Jenny (Ashfield), Steve (Moran) and Goat (Monaghan) are East End spivs, making comfortable living running cons and scams. Jenny and Steve want to push it up a notch however and Steve hears of a possible mark that could pocket them a huge score. The plan is to steal a truck full of booze and cigarettes from Nigel’s (Dee) haulage company but as Jenny distracts Nigel while the boys steal the truck, they discover the contents are not exactly what they thought they were.

The crime caper is becoming a stable part of the British film industry of late but does ‘Spivs’ have what it takes to standout from the crowd?

At first ‘Spivs’ seems to be your run of the mill, crafty cocky conmen drama filled with larger than life characters and that big job that will make them rich but half way through this film changes. We are introduced to the Spivs or conmen of the piece and we discover their devious con that will net them a small fortune, all your usual stuff. After this succeeds the results of their ill-gotten gains are not exactly what they expected. This completely changes the direction and tone of the film but it is for the worse.

Trying to be different is all well and good but the complete change in the concept and tone of the film ruins what has been set up before. While the first act of the film might have been nothing new, the characters and their situation made you start to endear yourself to them but as soon as they find out what they have stolen, the repercussions of what they have done change the film entirely. This takes the film down a more violent route, introduces a moral dilemma and an awful lot of melodrama. The total change in these characters as they react to the situation destroys everything that the first part of the film built and in some cases they become quite clichéd.

The actors do their best with the material. Ken Stott gets a chance to shine in a lead role as head of the team, Jack. The old guard who has been around the block and knows the con business inside and out, it is him who goes through the biggest and most dramatic change. Stott is well up for the challenge but it is the plot and the change of direction that lets him down. Nick Moran is his usual self, playing the young wide-boy, trying to impress his mentor. Kate Ashfield brings beauty to the team but she doesn’t real look comfortable doing it. Dominic Monaghan is the token drug fiend of the bunch but his character gets little development and far too stereotypical.

‘Spivs’ tries to bring something new to the British crime caper but just ends up not really working. The total change in direction comes off more as a moral crusade than a constructive plot device and this is a real shame, as the cast deserved much better.

Star Rating = * *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is a good transfer. The picture quality reflects the high level of production design and cinematography, especially when you take into account the film’s micro budget. The sound is also very clear, emphasising the dialogue very well.

BONUS FEATURES

Featurette (16.06 mins)

Director Colin Teague, writer Gary Young, producer Hamish Skeggs, editor Eddie Hamilton, director of photography Haris Zambarloukos, production designer Mike Kane and stars Ken Stott, Nick Moran, Dominic Monaghan, Kate Ashfield, Jack Dee, Tamer Hassan, Derek Lea, Linda Bassett, Rita Ora and Christos Zenonos come together to talk about ‘Spivs’. The group reveal how the project came about, how it was funded and the research and development that went into the story and characters. They also discuss the look and feel of the film and how the story changed direction half way through.

Trailer (1.38 mins)

Watch the theatrical trailer that was used to promote the movie.

Commentary
Director Colin Teague and writer Gary Young come together to talk about bringing ‘Spivs’ to the silver screen. They reveal how the film was financed, highlighting the budget restrictions and how they tried to make the movie look as good as they could for the money. The also discuss the story and the amount of research that went into it and how this influenced the look and feel of the characters. This is an informative and chatty commentary from two men that feel very passionate about the movie.

OVERALL

Even though this is a low budget feature the bonus features on the disc are not too bad. The commentary track is good and the featurette reveals most of the things you want to know about the film. The inclusion of some deleted scenes would have added to the value but this is still a decent release for an independent film.



Jamie Kelwick