Outlaw (2007 film)
Encyclopedia
Outlaw is a 2007
action
-crime
-drama film
written and directed by British filmmaker Nick Love
. Outlaw stars Sean Bean
, Danny Dyer
, Bob Hoskins
, Lennie James
, Rupert Friend
and Sean Harris
.
The film is set in the United Kingdom
in 2006. Sean Bean plays a soldier who returns home from duty to find that the country for which he has been fighting has become a war zone itself thanks to rampant crime. He joins forces with likeminded people to take on the evil that threatens to take over his home.
, all of whom have experiences which lead them to believe that justice in the country is not being handed out fairly. These characters include white-collar worker
Gene Dekker (Danny Dyer
), who is violently beaten by yobs without any reason on the way to a wedding. Danny Bryant (Sean Bean
) is a paratrooper
who has seen action in the Falklands
, Afghanistan and Iraq and who arrives back from abroad to find his wife with someone else, and also believes that the state of the country is worse than the war-torn places he has recently served in. Crown Court
prosecution barrister
Cedric Munroe (Lennie James
) receives death threats towards his pregnant wife, being told they will only be safe if he pulls out of the case against club owner and heroin dealer Terry Manning (Rob Fry), a boss of the criminal underworld, who Munroe is currently prosecuting. Cambridge University student Sandy Mardell (Rupert Friend
) and son of Bryant's former commanding officer has only recently left hospital, though the thugs who scarred him for life in an unprovoked attack were released from prison before he had made his recovery.
Through the help of jingoistic
hotel security guard and former football hooligan Simon Hillier (Sean Harris
), who has a connection to all the men in one form or another, the men are united - Munroe had previously defended him in court, Dekker had gone to school with him, and Bryant stays in the hotel where he works. The men form a vigilante
gang, targeting individuals who they determine to be a blight on society. Information on said targets is provided to them by Munroe's police contact Walter Lewis (Bob Hoskins
), one of the few police officers who is not corrupt and who has been stuck behind a desk by his superiors. The men work through targets associated with Manning, whose men went ahead with their threat against Munroe's pregnant wife, killing her and their unborn child. The men use firearms Bryant stole from active duty with the army.
The gang attract media attention and become known as the "Outlaws", but get themselves into trouble when they reveal their identities to one of Manning's men, Ian Furlong, yet fail to kill him. As a result Furlong kills Lewis, and Bryant, the leader of the outlaws, is subsequently framed for the murder. Following this the gang go their separate ways, though not before Bryant hangs Hillier for being a liability, questioning his authority, and insulting his wife.
As they all go back to their day-to-day lives, Manning is released from custody because of lack of prosecution. Bryant confronts Furlong in a pub regarding Manning's location, and shoots Furlong through the head. Dekker receives word from his friend and colleague Frank Lordish that he learned from his brother that Manning is hiding in the countryside. Dekker flees his wedding to contact Munroe when he realises that he cannot live a normal life while letting Manning get away. The pair contact Mardell, who after meeting up with Bryant, decides that they will not survive the attack on Manning's home. Bryant, Munroe and Dekker infiltrate Manning's home, yet quickly discover that it is a trap, with armed police soon arriving outside, led by the corrupt Sgt. Grieves (George Anton) of the Flying Squad
, who is in league with Manning.
The three outlaws engage in a gunfight with the police and manage to flee into the woods for one final showdown. Dekker is shot in the shoulder and Bryant is killed while advancing towards the armed response squad and shooting at them. Munroe willingly surrenders only to be murdered by the now blatantly corrupt police officers. When it appears that all the vigilantes are dead, Dekker is revealed to still be alive and was playing dead. He successfully escapes through the forest, pursued by gunshots.
The final scene shows Frank being handed an envelope of cash by Terry Manning in his workplace's car park. As the crime lord drives away he is confronted by a gun-wielding Dekker, who points the gun in Manning's face. Manning sneers at Dekker, saying "You haven't got the bollocks, son", to which Dekker continues to smile, and the film ends with Dekker pulling the trigger.
; with Lydney Harbour
Industrial Estate, Gloucester Quays
and Cheltenham
's Thistle Hotel all featuring in the film.
described it as "ugly, naive and deeply unpleasant: crime-revenge-porn without any style or wit or convincing narrative". Ali Catterall of Channel 4 Film described the film as Death Wish
written by the Daily Mail
. Empire Magazine panned it in their 1 star assessment, stating that the film "descends into a sickening sludge of childish politics, brutality and creative swearing".
In some media outlets, the film has even been described as 'irresponsible' and 'exploitative'. The Independent
stated that the film "is as unconvincing as it is unpleasant" and that it "may be a sincere expression of Nick Love's own ambivalence, but it makes for a faltering film. Wendy Ide of The Times
called it "a rage-spewing hate crime of a movie... It’s not the explicit violence and primal anger that is worrying, it’s the fact that Love may be tapping into something simmering in the nation’s psyche. Or worse, inflaming it." As of 2011, Outlaw has garnered a score of 21% on Rotten Tomatoes from 19 reviews.
One unlikely outcome of Outlaw's negative critical reception was the cult popularity of a YouTube
clip featuring director Nick Love
and actor
Danny Dyer
discussing the film's critical mauling, taken from the film's DVD commentary. On his blog
the comedy writer Graham Linehan
called the clip his "favourite moment of accidental comedy of the last five years" while Guardian newspaper film critic Peter Bradshaw
compared Love and Dyer to a real life Derek and Clive
.
2007 in film
This is a list of major films released in 2007.-Top grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2007...
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-crime
Crime film
Crime films are films which focus on the lives of criminals. The stylistic approach to a crime film varies from realistic portrayals of real-life criminal figures, to the far-fetched evil doings of imaginary arch-villains. Criminal acts are almost always glorified in these movies.- Plays and films...
-drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by British filmmaker Nick Love
Nick Love
Nick Love is a British film director and writer. Love came to public attention in the UK after making the films The Football Factory, The Business and The Firm. He has two 'Millwall' tattoos, including one on the inside of his bottom lip.Love is well known for collaborating with actor Danny Dyer...
. Outlaw stars Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
, Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
, Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
, Lennie James
Lennie James
Lennie James is an English actor and playwright.-Career:James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988...
, Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
and Sean Harris
Sean Harris
Sean Harris is a British actor, who is best known for his performance as Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the film 24 Hour Party People. He grew up in Norwich, Norfolk, where he lived until he was 23....
.
The film is set in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 2006. Sean Bean plays a soldier who returns home from duty to find that the country for which he has been fighting has become a war zone itself thanks to rampant crime. He joins forces with likeminded people to take on the evil that threatens to take over his home.
Plot
The film begins by exploring stories involving a number of different characters who live in and around LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, all of whom have experiences which lead them to believe that justice in the country is not being handed out fairly. These characters include white-collar worker
White-collar worker
The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...
Gene Dekker (Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
), who is violently beaten by yobs without any reason on the way to a wedding. Danny Bryant (Sean Bean
Sean Bean
Shaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
) is a paratrooper
Paratrooper
Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force.Paratroopers are used for tactical advantage as they can be inserted into the battlefield from the air, thereby allowing them to be positioned in areas not accessible by land...
who has seen action in the Falklands
Falklands War
The Falklands War , also called the Falklands Conflict or Falklands Crisis, was fought in 1982 between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the disputed Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands...
, Afghanistan and Iraq and who arrives back from abroad to find his wife with someone else, and also believes that the state of the country is worse than the war-torn places he has recently served in. Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
prosecution barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
Cedric Munroe (Lennie James
Lennie James
Lennie James is an English actor and playwright.-Career:James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988...
) receives death threats towards his pregnant wife, being told they will only be safe if he pulls out of the case against club owner and heroin dealer Terry Manning (Rob Fry), a boss of the criminal underworld, who Munroe is currently prosecuting. Cambridge University student Sandy Mardell (Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend
Rupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
) and son of Bryant's former commanding officer has only recently left hospital, though the thugs who scarred him for life in an unprovoked attack were released from prison before he had made his recovery.
Through the help of jingoistic
Jingoism
Jingoism is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as extreme patriotism in the form of aggressive foreign policy. In practice, it is a country's advocation of the use of threats or actual force against other countries in order to safeguard what it perceives as its national interests...
hotel security guard and former football hooligan Simon Hillier (Sean Harris
Sean Harris
Sean Harris is a British actor, who is best known for his performance as Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the film 24 Hour Party People. He grew up in Norwich, Norfolk, where he lived until he was 23....
), who has a connection to all the men in one form or another, the men are united - Munroe had previously defended him in court, Dekker had gone to school with him, and Bryant stays in the hotel where he works. The men form a vigilante
Vigilante
A vigilante is a private individual who legally or illegally punishes an alleged lawbreaker, or participates in a group which metes out extralegal punishment to an alleged lawbreaker....
gang, targeting individuals who they determine to be a blight on society. Information on said targets is provided to them by Munroe's police contact Walter Lewis (Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
), one of the few police officers who is not corrupt and who has been stuck behind a desk by his superiors. The men work through targets associated with Manning, whose men went ahead with their threat against Munroe's pregnant wife, killing her and their unborn child. The men use firearms Bryant stole from active duty with the army.
The gang attract media attention and become known as the "Outlaws", but get themselves into trouble when they reveal their identities to one of Manning's men, Ian Furlong, yet fail to kill him. As a result Furlong kills Lewis, and Bryant, the leader of the outlaws, is subsequently framed for the murder. Following this the gang go their separate ways, though not before Bryant hangs Hillier for being a liability, questioning his authority, and insulting his wife.
As they all go back to their day-to-day lives, Manning is released from custody because of lack of prosecution. Bryant confronts Furlong in a pub regarding Manning's location, and shoots Furlong through the head. Dekker receives word from his friend and colleague Frank Lordish that he learned from his brother that Manning is hiding in the countryside. Dekker flees his wedding to contact Munroe when he realises that he cannot live a normal life while letting Manning get away. The pair contact Mardell, who after meeting up with Bryant, decides that they will not survive the attack on Manning's home. Bryant, Munroe and Dekker infiltrate Manning's home, yet quickly discover that it is a trap, with armed police soon arriving outside, led by the corrupt Sgt. Grieves (George Anton) of the Flying Squad
Flying Squad
The Flying Squad is a branch of the Specialist Crime Directorate, within London's Metropolitan Police Service. The Squad's purpose is to investigate commercial armed robberies, along with the prevention and investigation of other serious armed crime...
, who is in league with Manning.
The three outlaws engage in a gunfight with the police and manage to flee into the woods for one final showdown. Dekker is shot in the shoulder and Bryant is killed while advancing towards the armed response squad and shooting at them. Munroe willingly surrenders only to be murdered by the now blatantly corrupt police officers. When it appears that all the vigilantes are dead, Dekker is revealed to still be alive and was playing dead. He successfully escapes through the forest, pursued by gunshots.
The final scene shows Frank being handed an envelope of cash by Terry Manning in his workplace's car park. As the crime lord drives away he is confronted by a gun-wielding Dekker, who points the gun in Manning's face. Manning sneers at Dekker, saying "You haven't got the bollocks, son", to which Dekker continues to smile, and the film ends with Dekker pulling the trigger.
Cast
- Sean BeanSean BeanShaun Mark "Sean" Bean is an English film and stage actor. Bean is best known for playing Boromir in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy and, previously, British Colonel Richard Sharpe in the ITV television series Sharpe...
as Danny Bryant - Danny DyerDanny DyerDanny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
as Gene Dekker - Bob HoskinsBob HoskinsRobert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
as Walter Lewis - Lennie JamesLennie JamesLennie James is an English actor and playwright.-Career:James attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1988...
as Cedric Munroe - Sean HarrisSean HarrisSean Harris is a British actor, who is best known for his performance as Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis in the film 24 Hour Party People. He grew up in Norwich, Norfolk, where he lived until he was 23....
as Simon Hillier - Rupert FriendRupert FriendRupert Friend is an English film actor, who is best known for his roles as Mr. Wickham in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice, Lieutenant Kurt Kotler in the 2008 film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, and Prince Albert in the 2009 film The Young Victoria.-Career:He made his debut in the film The...
as Sandy Mardell
Production
The film was largely shot on location in GloucestershireGloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
; with Lydney Harbour
Lydney
Lydney is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Gloucestershire. It is located on the west bank of the River Severn, close to the Forest of Dean. The town lies on the A48 road, next to the Lydney Park gardens with its Roman temple in honour of Nodens.-Transport:The Severn Railway...
Industrial Estate, Gloucester Quays
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
and Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
's Thistle Hotel all featuring in the film.
Release
Outlaw entered the UK box office at No. 5 in its first week, but then dropped before closing at many cinemas. The DVD was released on 9 July 2007.Reception
Outlaw opened to negative reviews from critics; the Daily Mirror slammed the film, calling it 'simplistic' and 'muddled' and giving it 2/5 and 1/5 in their Friday and Sunday issues respectively. The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
described it as "ugly, naive and deeply unpleasant: crime-revenge-porn without any style or wit or convincing narrative". Ali Catterall of Channel 4 Film described the film as Death Wish
Death Wish
Death Wish is a 1972 novel by Brian Garfield.-Plot:Paul Benjamin is a CPA in New York and lifelong liberal. However, his staid life is overturned when his daughter, Carol, and spouse, Esther, are attacked by muggers. His wife does not survive the attack, and his traumatized daughter is left in a...
written by the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
. Empire Magazine panned it in their 1 star assessment, stating that the film "descends into a sickening sludge of childish politics, brutality and creative swearing".
In some media outlets, the film has even been described as 'irresponsible' and 'exploitative'. The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
stated that the film "is as unconvincing as it is unpleasant" and that it "may be a sincere expression of Nick Love's own ambivalence, but it makes for a faltering film. Wendy Ide of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
called it "a rage-spewing hate crime of a movie... It’s not the explicit violence and primal anger that is worrying, it’s the fact that Love may be tapping into something simmering in the nation’s psyche. Or worse, inflaming it." As of 2011, Outlaw has garnered a score of 21% on Rotten Tomatoes from 19 reviews.
One unlikely outcome of Outlaw's negative critical reception was the cult popularity of a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
clip featuring director Nick Love
Nick Love
Nick Love is a British film director and writer. Love came to public attention in the UK after making the films The Football Factory, The Business and The Firm. He has two 'Millwall' tattoos, including one on the inside of his bottom lip.Love is well known for collaborating with actor Danny Dyer...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
discussing the film's critical mauling, taken from the film's DVD commentary. On his blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
the comedy writer Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan
Graham Linehan is an Irish television writer, actor, comedian and director who, often in partnership with Arthur Mathews, has written or co-written a number of popular television comedies...
called the clip his "favourite moment of accidental comedy of the last five years" while Guardian newspaper film critic Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw is a British writer and film critic. He was educated at Cambridge University, where he was President of Footlights.Bradshaw is a film critic for The Guardian...
compared Love and Dyer to a real life Derek and Clive
Derek and Clive
Derek and Clive is a double act of comedic characters created by Dudley Moore and Peter Cook in the 1970s. The performances were captured on the records Derek and Clive , Derek and Clive Come Again , and Derek and Clive Ad Nauseam , as well as in a film documentary, Derek and Clive Get the Horn...
.