I am not sure how to classify Ben Wheatley’s Down Terrace, a film that is screening at the 29th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival. It is a crime drama but with a tinge of humour. I guess I would call it a dark comedy. A comedy that gets its laugh from the macabre.

Down Terrace was co-written by Robin Hill, who stars opposite his real-life father, Robert, as pathetic dad-son kingpins of a two-bit syndicate in Brighton who recently had charges against them dropped. In addition, the younger Hill’s wife, plays his pregnant girlfriend.

A full summary of the film can be found on its VIFF page.

My problem with the film is that we really never get a sense exactly what makes Bill (Robert Hill) and Carl (Robin Hill) the kingpins of a syndicate in Brighton. Aside from some envelopes with what I assume was money and taking about  a “club.” and some stereotypical gangster from London coming in as the only clues we get. It would have been nice to see them in their element. It could still be funny but I needed to see why they are such criminal kingpins. Instead they seemed like a joke, especially Carl an immature 34 year-old.

Everyone is so unlikeable and I think the only really good character is the matriarch, Maggie (Julia Deakin). I equate her to Lady Macbeth, the real mastermind behind this crime family. Her performance was quite chilling as she hides behind a matronly smile.

I felt that the violence was a bit much and the language very salty, especially as it seemed as if they were speaking it in front of a two-year old. And for a movie that made such a big-deal to be set in Brighton from all the press material, they barely used the location to its advantage and instead 90% of the film was set in Robert, Maggie and Carl’s house, which apparently is the house that Robin Hill grew up in.

While I realize that this film was filmed on a shoestring budget, you would think that at least they could have afforded some costume changes. That was something that really bothered me. The film takes place over two weeks, which the film makers let us know by flashing what day it is. But every single scene had the characters wearing the same clothes with either a sweater or sweatshirt on top. As well, there were continuity errors too like Carl in one scene having a bloody shirt to the next having a clean one. Also, his ring keeps on changing hands.

Even though the film was only 98 minutes, it was still too long, there were times that I think the film could have ended and I felt that the ending that they did do was just cold and unfeeling.

But judge for yourself.

Down Terrace plays next October 7, 2010 at 9:15pm Empire Granville 7 Th 4

Here is my Quick Take review: