Played
Encyclopedia
Played is a 2006 crime film
produced by Caspar von Winterfeldt, Nick Simunek and Mick Rossi, executive produced by John Daly
, co-produced by Nigel Mead and Lenny Bitondo, written by Sean Stanek and Mick Rossi and directed by Sean Stanek. The film stars Val Kilmer
, Gabriel Byrne
, Vinnie Jones
, Patrick Bergin
, Joanne Whalley
, Bruno Kirby
(in his final film), Anthony LaPaglia
, Roy Dotrice
, Patsy Kensit
, Andy Nyman
and Mick Rossi.
Originally intended to be a short, the film was shot without the use of a scripted screenplay and the director (Sean Stanek) allowed the actors to improvise a majority of dialogue as he shot the scenes. The picture was shot on location in London
and Los Angeles
and took three years to complete.
) who receives a phone call from Ray Burns (Mick Rossi) who has just been shot and desperately needs help. Dillon is a cleaner
for a gangster named Eddie (Gabriel Byrne
) and has been sent to assist Ray should he require it. After a colorful opening title sequence which follows Dillon's drive to the house, he finds Ray almost bleeding to death on a sofa. Removing all of the evidence, Dillon leaves carrying Ray to his car but not before he torches the house, destroying any evidence of Ray's presence. As Dillon and Ray drive away, Dillon struggles to keep Ray conscious and relates to him a story of a humorous encounter with a Mexican auto mechanic, which coins one of the catchphrases of the film: "I'm not gonna taco".
The story then flashes back to eight years earlier and introduces Riley (Patrick Bergin
) as he admires some artwork in a London gallery. He receives a call on his cell phone from the crooked Detective Brice (Vinnie Jones
), who informs Riley that there is a shipment of heroin coming in, and that he wants Riley to get a team together and steal it for him. Riley agrees to the job and tells Brice that he has just the man to do it, a petty thief named Ray Burns. Riley gives a menacing stare to the gallery attendant (Caspar von Winterfeldt) in one of the films funnier moments before leaving to meet with Ray.
After they discuss the details of the job at hand, Ray agrees to do the job and meets up with his team, which consists of Nathan (Sean Power
) and Terry Rawlings (Trevor Nugent) son of infamous moblord Jack Rawlings (Roy Dotrice
) and Terry's girlfriend, Cindy (Patsy Kensit
). Together they begin plotting the heist: Nathan will go up to the roof and act as lookout while Ray and Terry break into the warehouse to steal the heroin. Unfortunately, during the heist, Nathan loses his footing and tumbles to his death, falling through a skylight and triggering an alarm, alerting the guards. Ray and Terry manage to escape with the drugs, but lose contact with each other.
Shortly thereafter, Brice calls Riley to inform him that the heist went terribly wrong, and that Nathan is dead. To cover his own tracks, he tells Riley to find a scapegoat, and Riley immediately names Ray. Meanwhile Ray, who has gone into hiding, tries to call Terry but doesn't get an answer. He turns to Riley to find out what happened. Riley tells Ray that Nathan is dead and that Scotland Yard is looking for him, omitting the fact that Terry has handed over the drugs and that Brice is behind the whole heist. Ray decides he needs to disappear for a while and attempts to go underground, but before he can do so the police pick him up on an anonymous tip from Brice. Ray is convicted for the robbery and the manslaughter of Nathan, and is subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison.
Ray serves his time, but has no contact with the outside world, denying even his closest lover and girlfriend Maggie (Joanne Whalley
) a visit. He also learns by reading the paper that Terry has died of a drug overdose. Saddened by the news, Ray vows to get revenge on Brice and Riley as soon as he is free.
While Ray is serving time, Riley and Brice continue their crooked ways, and Brice informs Riley that he has an incriminating video tape of London Charlie (Steve Jones
) that could be worth some cash. He dispatches Riley to Los Angeles to blackmail London Charlie. Riley arrives in Los Angeles along with his girlfriend Samantha Fay (Sile Bermingham) in order to pick up the cash from Brice. Meanhwile Ray is released from prison and contacted by London Charlie, who realizes that the only way he can escape his dilemma is to have Riley terminated. He knows Ray is out to avenge his time in prison and so pays him $100,000 to come to Los Angeles. Brice, aware of Ray's release and suspicious that he may be up to something, instructs an underling, Danny, (Andy Nyman
) to keep an eye on him and find out what he can about his plans. Danny confronts Ray in a busy London street and brings the situation to a head when he makes a comment about Ray's former girlfriend Maggie, whom Ray has not seen since he went to prison. Ray angrily headbutts Danny, telling him to leave him alone. Danny reports this back to Brice, who still believes Ray is up to something.
Ray is soon contacted by Jack Rawlings, Terry's father, who beckons him to come and visit. The two have a long talk about Terry and Ray tells Jack how sorry he is for Terry's death. Jack feigns compassion and tells Ray that he wants him to go after the guy who set them up, namely Riley, and gives him a contact in Los Angeles, Eddie, who can help him with the job. Ray is to pick up $100,000 at Jack's club from Big Frankie (Adam Fogerty
) and then get on a plane to Los Angeles to hunt Riley down.
Upon arrival, Ray immediately goes to London Charlie's house (which is revealed to be the one seen in the beginning of the film) to meet with him. Ray is told that there is $100,000 in a bag that he is to take to Riley and use to recover the tape. Once he has the tape, Ray is to kill Riley and bring the tape back to London Charlie. Ray leaves and begins to cover his tracks by checking into two separate motels. He then makes a call to Eddie to pick up a car for use in Los Angeles. That night he picks up the car and meets Eddie, who is waiting for him in the back seat. Eddie tells him there is a pistol in the glove box and that he doesn't want to get involved in any of the nasty business. Ray acknowledges the request and takes off into the night.
The next day, Riley is waiting to meet with London Charlie. He is surprised by Ray, who shows up at his door carrying a bag of cash. Ray has hidden the pistol outside of the apartment and so is clean when he is frisked by Riley. The two have a heated discussion about what happened eight years ago and Riley makes light of Terry's death, much to Ray's chagrin. Ray gives the bag of cash to Riley, who angrily informs him that the amount is only half of what he and London Charlie had agreed to, and ordering him to get him the rest if he wants the tape. Ray exits the apartment, retrieves his pistol, then goes back inside and demands the tape from Riley at gunpoint. Riley refuses, and Ray shoots him once in the chest, then once in the back of the head, killing him.
Ray searches the apartment for the tape, but only finds a key to a room at a nearby hotel. Ray returns to his first hotel to wash Riley's blood off of himself before he goes to check out the other hotel. Meanwhile, police are investigating the shooting death at Riley's apartment. Detective Allen (Bruno Kirby
) arrives on the crime scene and discovers that there is a link to a nearby hotel—the same hotel Ray is also heading to. Detective Bartow (Mark Siciliani) and Officer Chris Anders (Aaron Gallagher) are dispatched to investigate. At the hotel they find Samantha Fay, who is startled by their appearance. When the officers inform her that there has been an incident and they need to take her to the station to answer some questions, she reluctantly agrees. Officer Anders escorts her out, leaving Detective Bartow to search the room. Ray arrives as they are leaving, running into Bartow as he attempts to enter the room. Ray attempts to keep his cool, especially when Bartow tells him he is a police officer. He questions Ray as to how he knew Riley, and Ray innocently says they recently met and that they had arranged to grab a drink. Bartow is suspicious and asks Ray if he would have any objections to coming down to the station for some questioning. Ray has no choice but to agree, and they leave together.
At the station, Ray and Samantha are questioned for hours and hours by Detective Allen and Detective Drummond (Anthony LaPaglia
). The situation is tense, and they both have a tough time keeping calm. Eventually they are both let go, but not before Samantha is told that Riley is dead. Both leave the station within a couple of hours of each other and head in different directions, Ray to pick up his things at the second motel, and Samantha to pick up the tape and a gun which Riley had left in a safety deposit box earlier that day. Samantha then heads to London Charlie's house to square things away with him and avenge Riley's death. She shoots London Charlie dead in his pool just as Ray arrives to say goodbye. Ray and Samantha have a Mexican stand-off. The now-useless tape is thrown into the pool, and Samantha slowly backs out of the house, leaving Ray to sort out the mess. As Ray sits to contemplate his next move, he doesn't notice Samantha sneaking back inside, who shoots Ray in the back. Samantha leaves and Ray is left in a pool of blood, but still alive. The scene from the film's opening replays as Ray picks up the phone to call Eddie and reaches Dillon, who comes to clean up his mess.
Dillon finally gets Ray to a secure location, and Ray pays him off so that he can return to London, where he recuperates for several days in the care of Maggie. Ray thinks quickly about what he should do when he receives a phone call from Eddie, telling him that Jack Rawlings wants to see him on the rooftop of a car-park in Chinatown later that evening. After Eddie hangs up, he anonymously calls Brice and tells him about the meeting. Brice is confused, but eager to settle the score with Ray. He calls Danny to tell him that he should follow Ray to the meeting and kill him.
While Danny circles the streets of London in an attempt to find Ray, he stumbles on Maggie and follows her back to her flat. Ray, meanwhile, is visiting with Cindy, whom he had rescued from the streets prior to his departure to Los Angeles and had given shelter to while she attempted to recover from her drug habit. Danny forces his way into Maggie's apartment and, after roughing her up, takes Ray's remaining money and returns to his place. When Ray returns, he grabs Maggie and they head over to Danny's flat. Ray breaks in and finds Nikki (Meredith Ostrom
) clutching the bag of money and Danny jamming on drugs. Ray also hears a recording on Danny's answering machine of Brice telling Danny to kill him. Ray kills Danny, then takes the tapes from the answering machine and the bag of money. He and Maggie then leave to head to the rendezvous in Chinatown.
Brice arrives at Danny's place a little later after Nikki has called the police, and finds Danny dead. Brice also notices that the tapes from the machine are missing and now has no choice but to show up on the car park rooftop for the inevitable showdown.
was a close friend of Rossi's and agreed to do some filming with the two young filmmakers.
As Rossi describes in an interview after the film was made:
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...
produced by Caspar von Winterfeldt, Nick Simunek and Mick Rossi, executive produced by John Daly
John Daly (producer)
John Daly was a British film producer.-Personal life:John Daly was born in South East London, a part of London which was badly bombed and damaged in World War II. He attended a Roman Catholic school. Daly was father to Jenny, Michael, Julian, and Timothy...
, co-produced by Nigel Mead and Lenny Bitondo, written by Sean Stanek and Mick Rossi and directed by Sean Stanek. The film stars Val Kilmer
Val Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
, Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
, Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
, Patrick Bergin
Patrick Bergin
Patrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
, Joanne Whalley
Joanne Whalley
-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
, Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II and Donnie Brasco.-Early life:Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City,...
(in his final film), Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony M. LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American TV series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
, Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
, Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
, Andy Nyman
Andy Nyman
Andy Nyman is an English actor and magician.Nyman first came to note with his performance as a hard nosed director in Musical! and then as Keith Whitehead in the cult film of the Martin Amis novel, Dead Babies...
and Mick Rossi.
Originally intended to be a short, the film was shot without the use of a scripted screenplay and the director (Sean Stanek) allowed the actors to improvise a majority of dialogue as he shot the scenes. The picture was shot on location in London
London
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...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and took three years to complete.
Plot
The story opens in Los Angeles with Dillon (Val KilmerVal Kilmer
Val Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
) who receives a phone call from Ray Burns (Mick Rossi) who has just been shot and desperately needs help. Dillon is a cleaner
Cleaner
Cleaner is the name of a German project specializing in electronic music. Formerly known as Cleen, Myer released several albums on the American industrial music record label, Metropolis Records, as well as the labels Zoth Ommog and Accession Records....
for a gangster named Eddie (Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
) and has been sent to assist Ray should he require it. After a colorful opening title sequence which follows Dillon's drive to the house, he finds Ray almost bleeding to death on a sofa. Removing all of the evidence, Dillon leaves carrying Ray to his car but not before he torches the house, destroying any evidence of Ray's presence. As Dillon and Ray drive away, Dillon struggles to keep Ray conscious and relates to him a story of a humorous encounter with a Mexican auto mechanic, which coins one of the catchphrases of the film: "I'm not gonna taco".
The story then flashes back to eight years earlier and introduces Riley (Patrick Bergin
Patrick Bergin
Patrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
) as he admires some artwork in a London gallery. He receives a call on his cell phone from the crooked Detective Brice (Vinnie Jones
Vinnie Jones
Vincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
), who informs Riley that there is a shipment of heroin coming in, and that he wants Riley to get a team together and steal it for him. Riley agrees to the job and tells Brice that he has just the man to do it, a petty thief named Ray Burns. Riley gives a menacing stare to the gallery attendant (Caspar von Winterfeldt) in one of the films funnier moments before leaving to meet with Ray.
After they discuss the details of the job at hand, Ray agrees to do the job and meets up with his team, which consists of Nathan (Sean Power
Sean Power (actor)
Sean Power is an American actor, writer and director. Power has resided in Canada, the United States, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom...
) and Terry Rawlings (Trevor Nugent) son of infamous moblord Jack Rawlings (Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice
Roy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
) and Terry's girlfriend, Cindy (Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
). Together they begin plotting the heist: Nathan will go up to the roof and act as lookout while Ray and Terry break into the warehouse to steal the heroin. Unfortunately, during the heist, Nathan loses his footing and tumbles to his death, falling through a skylight and triggering an alarm, alerting the guards. Ray and Terry manage to escape with the drugs, but lose contact with each other.
Shortly thereafter, Brice calls Riley to inform him that the heist went terribly wrong, and that Nathan is dead. To cover his own tracks, he tells Riley to find a scapegoat, and Riley immediately names Ray. Meanwhile Ray, who has gone into hiding, tries to call Terry but doesn't get an answer. He turns to Riley to find out what happened. Riley tells Ray that Nathan is dead and that Scotland Yard is looking for him, omitting the fact that Terry has handed over the drugs and that Brice is behind the whole heist. Ray decides he needs to disappear for a while and attempts to go underground, but before he can do so the police pick him up on an anonymous tip from Brice. Ray is convicted for the robbery and the manslaughter of Nathan, and is subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison.
Ray serves his time, but has no contact with the outside world, denying even his closest lover and girlfriend Maggie (Joanne Whalley
Joanne Whalley
-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
) a visit. He also learns by reading the paper that Terry has died of a drug overdose. Saddened by the news, Ray vows to get revenge on Brice and Riley as soon as he is free.
While Ray is serving time, Riley and Brice continue their crooked ways, and Brice informs Riley that he has an incriminating video tape of London Charlie (Steve Jones
Steve Jones (musician)
Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
) that could be worth some cash. He dispatches Riley to Los Angeles to blackmail London Charlie. Riley arrives in Los Angeles along with his girlfriend Samantha Fay (Sile Bermingham) in order to pick up the cash from Brice. Meanhwile Ray is released from prison and contacted by London Charlie, who realizes that the only way he can escape his dilemma is to have Riley terminated. He knows Ray is out to avenge his time in prison and so pays him $100,000 to come to Los Angeles. Brice, aware of Ray's release and suspicious that he may be up to something, instructs an underling, Danny, (Andy Nyman
Andy Nyman
Andy Nyman is an English actor and magician.Nyman first came to note with his performance as a hard nosed director in Musical! and then as Keith Whitehead in the cult film of the Martin Amis novel, Dead Babies...
) to keep an eye on him and find out what he can about his plans. Danny confronts Ray in a busy London street and brings the situation to a head when he makes a comment about Ray's former girlfriend Maggie, whom Ray has not seen since he went to prison. Ray angrily headbutts Danny, telling him to leave him alone. Danny reports this back to Brice, who still believes Ray is up to something.
Ray is soon contacted by Jack Rawlings, Terry's father, who beckons him to come and visit. The two have a long talk about Terry and Ray tells Jack how sorry he is for Terry's death. Jack feigns compassion and tells Ray that he wants him to go after the guy who set them up, namely Riley, and gives him a contact in Los Angeles, Eddie, who can help him with the job. Ray is to pick up $100,000 at Jack's club from Big Frankie (Adam Fogerty
Adam Fogerty
Adam Heywood Fogerty is an English boxer, rugby league player, and actor.-Career:Fogerty was born in Oldham, Lancashire. Fogerty's boxing career saw him facing a number of relatively underskilled opponents. He twice faced Paul Lister, with their first meeting in 1989 handing Fogerty his first and...
) and then get on a plane to Los Angeles to hunt Riley down.
Upon arrival, Ray immediately goes to London Charlie's house (which is revealed to be the one seen in the beginning of the film) to meet with him. Ray is told that there is $100,000 in a bag that he is to take to Riley and use to recover the tape. Once he has the tape, Ray is to kill Riley and bring the tape back to London Charlie. Ray leaves and begins to cover his tracks by checking into two separate motels. He then makes a call to Eddie to pick up a car for use in Los Angeles. That night he picks up the car and meets Eddie, who is waiting for him in the back seat. Eddie tells him there is a pistol in the glove box and that he doesn't want to get involved in any of the nasty business. Ray acknowledges the request and takes off into the night.
The next day, Riley is waiting to meet with London Charlie. He is surprised by Ray, who shows up at his door carrying a bag of cash. Ray has hidden the pistol outside of the apartment and so is clean when he is frisked by Riley. The two have a heated discussion about what happened eight years ago and Riley makes light of Terry's death, much to Ray's chagrin. Ray gives the bag of cash to Riley, who angrily informs him that the amount is only half of what he and London Charlie had agreed to, and ordering him to get him the rest if he wants the tape. Ray exits the apartment, retrieves his pistol, then goes back inside and demands the tape from Riley at gunpoint. Riley refuses, and Ray shoots him once in the chest, then once in the back of the head, killing him.
Ray searches the apartment for the tape, but only finds a key to a room at a nearby hotel. Ray returns to his first hotel to wash Riley's blood off of himself before he goes to check out the other hotel. Meanwhile, police are investigating the shooting death at Riley's apartment. Detective Allen (Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II and Donnie Brasco.-Early life:Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City,...
) arrives on the crime scene and discovers that there is a link to a nearby hotel—the same hotel Ray is also heading to. Detective Bartow (Mark Siciliani) and Officer Chris Anders (Aaron Gallagher) are dispatched to investigate. At the hotel they find Samantha Fay, who is startled by their appearance. When the officers inform her that there has been an incident and they need to take her to the station to answer some questions, she reluctantly agrees. Officer Anders escorts her out, leaving Detective Bartow to search the room. Ray arrives as they are leaving, running into Bartow as he attempts to enter the room. Ray attempts to keep his cool, especially when Bartow tells him he is a police officer. He questions Ray as to how he knew Riley, and Ray innocently says they recently met and that they had arranged to grab a drink. Bartow is suspicious and asks Ray if he would have any objections to coming down to the station for some questioning. Ray has no choice but to agree, and they leave together.
At the station, Ray and Samantha are questioned for hours and hours by Detective Allen and Detective Drummond (Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony LaPaglia
Anthony M. LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American TV series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
). The situation is tense, and they both have a tough time keeping calm. Eventually they are both let go, but not before Samantha is told that Riley is dead. Both leave the station within a couple of hours of each other and head in different directions, Ray to pick up his things at the second motel, and Samantha to pick up the tape and a gun which Riley had left in a safety deposit box earlier that day. Samantha then heads to London Charlie's house to square things away with him and avenge Riley's death. She shoots London Charlie dead in his pool just as Ray arrives to say goodbye. Ray and Samantha have a Mexican stand-off. The now-useless tape is thrown into the pool, and Samantha slowly backs out of the house, leaving Ray to sort out the mess. As Ray sits to contemplate his next move, he doesn't notice Samantha sneaking back inside, who shoots Ray in the back. Samantha leaves and Ray is left in a pool of blood, but still alive. The scene from the film's opening replays as Ray picks up the phone to call Eddie and reaches Dillon, who comes to clean up his mess.
Dillon finally gets Ray to a secure location, and Ray pays him off so that he can return to London, where he recuperates for several days in the care of Maggie. Ray thinks quickly about what he should do when he receives a phone call from Eddie, telling him that Jack Rawlings wants to see him on the rooftop of a car-park in Chinatown later that evening. After Eddie hangs up, he anonymously calls Brice and tells him about the meeting. Brice is confused, but eager to settle the score with Ray. He calls Danny to tell him that he should follow Ray to the meeting and kill him.
While Danny circles the streets of London in an attempt to find Ray, he stumbles on Maggie and follows her back to her flat. Ray, meanwhile, is visiting with Cindy, whom he had rescued from the streets prior to his departure to Los Angeles and had given shelter to while she attempted to recover from her drug habit. Danny forces his way into Maggie's apartment and, after roughing her up, takes Ray's remaining money and returns to his place. When Ray returns, he grabs Maggie and they head over to Danny's flat. Ray breaks in and finds Nikki (Meredith Ostrom
Meredith Ostrom
Meredith Joy Ostrom is an actress/model/Painter.From Swedish, German, English and Lithuanian descent. A graduate of New York University, Tisch school of the arts. She has emerged as an artist since 2007...
) clutching the bag of money and Danny jamming on drugs. Ray also hears a recording on Danny's answering machine of Brice telling Danny to kill him. Ray kills Danny, then takes the tapes from the answering machine and the bag of money. He and Maggie then leave to head to the rendezvous in Chinatown.
Brice arrives at Danny's place a little later after Nikki has called the police, and finds Danny dead. Brice also notices that the tapes from the machine are missing and now has no choice but to show up on the car park rooftop for the inevitable showdown.
Cast
- Val KilmerVal KilmerVal Edward Kilmer is an American actor. Originally a stage actor, Kilmer became popular in the mid-1980s after a string of appearances in comedy films, starting with Top Secret! , then the cult classic Real Genius , as well as blockbuster action films, including a supporting role in Top Gun and a...
as Dillon - Gabriel ByrneGabriel ByrneGabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
as Eddie - Mick Rossi as Ray Burns
- Patrick BerginPatrick BerginPatrick Connolly Bergin is an Irish actor and singer. He may be best-known internationally for playing the menacing husband of Julia Roberts' character in the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy and is also known for his role as Irish terrorist Kevin O'Donnell in the film adaption of Patriot Games....
as Riley - Joanne WhalleyJoanne Whalley-Early life:Whalley was born in Salford but brought up in Stockport where she studied at the Braeside School of Speech and Drama, Marple.Whalley first appeared as a child in How We Used To Live and bit parts in soap operas, especially Coronation Street and Emmerdale...
as Maggie - Roy DotriceRoy DotriceRoy Dotrice, OBE is a British actor known for his Tony Award-winning Broadway performance in the revival of A Moon for the Misbegotten.-Life and career:...
as Jack Rawlings - Vinnie JonesVinnie JonesVincent Peter "Vinnie" Jones is an English film actor and retired Welsh footballer.Born in Hertfordshire, England, Jones represented and captained the Welsh national football team, having qualified via a Welsh grandparent. He also previously played for Chelsea and Leeds United. As a member of the...
as Detective Brice - Patsy KensitPatsy KensitPatricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
as Bunny - Anthony LaPagliaAnthony LaPagliaAnthony M. LaPaglia is an Australian actor. He is known for his role as FBI agent Jack Malone on the American TV series Without a Trace, for which he won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Television Series Drama and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama...
as Detective Drummond - Bruno KirbyBruno KirbyBruno Kirby was an American film and television actor. He was perhaps best known for his roles in the Hollywood films City Slickers, When Harry Met Sally..., Good Morning, Vietnam, The Godfather Part II and Donnie Brasco.-Early life:Kirby was born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu, Jr. in New York City,...
as Detective Allen - Andy NymanAndy NymanAndy Nyman is an English actor and magician.Nyman first came to note with his performance as a hard nosed director in Musical! and then as Keith Whitehead in the cult film of the Martin Amis novel, Dead Babies...
as Danny - Sile Bermingham as Samantha Fay
- Caspar von Winterfeldt as Gallery Attendant
- Meredith OstromMeredith OstromMeredith Joy Ostrom is an actress/model/Painter.From Swedish, German, English and Lithuanian descent. A graduate of New York University, Tisch school of the arts. She has emerged as an artist since 2007...
as Nikki - Steve JonesSteve Jones (musician)Stephen Philip "Steve" Jones is an English rock guitarist, singer and actor, best known as guitarist and founding member of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols.-Childhood:...
as London Charlie
- Trevor Nugent as Terry Rawlings
- Aaron Gallagher as Officer Chris Anders
- John Jones as Hotel Security Man
- Nick Simunek as Boyd
- Pipo Chiu as Maggie's Assistant
- Imran Ahktar as Prison Guard
- Adam FogertyAdam FogertyAdam Heywood Fogerty is an English boxer, rugby league player, and actor.-Career:Fogerty was born in Oldham, Lancashire. Fogerty's boxing career saw him facing a number of relatively underskilled opponents. He twice faced Paul Lister, with their first meeting in 1989 handing Fogerty his first and...
as Big Frankie - Nigel Mead as Chris the Maggot
- Luca Palanca as Patrol Officer Gomez
- Sean PowerSean Power (actor)Sean Power is an American actor, writer and director. Power has resided in Canada, the United States, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom...
as Nathan - Emma Ryan as The Stripper
- Marc Siciliani as Detective Bartow
- George Berg as Police Detective
Development
Played came about through a series of bizarre circumstances. Mick Rossi was working as a writer in Hollywood at the time and was having no luck in selling or producing his scripts. He was desperate to put some of his ideas on film and with the collaboration of his friend and partner Sean Stanek, the two embarked on shooting a short film to break the ice and display some of their talents. Gabriel ByrneGabriel Byrne
Gabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
was a close friend of Rossi's and agreed to do some filming with the two young filmmakers.
As Rossi describes in an interview after the film was made: