Alan Clarke Movies
Television film director and editor Alan Clarke was a master filmmaker noted for his vibrant explorations of the lives of society's dregs. The son of a Liverpool bricklayer, he too worked as a laborer and then attempted to be a salesman before spending two years in Hong Kong as part of the National Service. He later moved to Canada and began taking courses in acting and directing. He went back to England in 1961 to work as a floor manager for television, and became a director for the BBC in 1969. During his long career there, he made three theatrical films. One of them was a slightly sanitized remake of a television film, Scum, a graphic look at life in a grim juvenile prison that the national network banned because they felt it was too disturbing. Another was Rita, Sue & Bob Too (1986), a rollicking sex comedy about love amongst the unbeautiful. He then focused upon filming "plays" from both established and unknown writers. He preferred scripts that took a hard look at his country, and some of his best work came out when Thatcher was in power. Some of his films feature little dialog and are almost surreal as can be seen in the 1989 television film Elephant which chronicles without a spoken word, or explanation or even a context, the individual killings of eighteen Irish people (the "killings" were carefully staged and everyone involved was an actor). Clarke's films have never been known for being comfortable or easy to watch. Instead they are realistic, unflinching, metaphorical portrayals of British life. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1988
The Firm, acclaimed British television director Alan Clarke's last feature film, deals with the football hooliganism that was such a serious problem in England during the 1980s. Gary Oldman stars as Bex, a real estate agent whose true passion is being the "top boy" of the Inter-City Crew, or ICC, from West Ham (based on the real-life Inter-City Firm). As the film opens, Bex is engaged in a football match while his car is being vandalized by rivals from Birmingham, led by Yeti (Mike Leigh regular Philip Davis, who also co-starred in Clarke's Scum). His mates urge Bex to seek violent revenge immediately, but he has other plans. Bex calls a meeting with the two other major "firms" in England and proposes that they band together for a trip to Germany to face off against Dutch hooligans at the European Cup. But his rivals balk because Bex insists on leading the new national firm. It's decided that whichever firm comes out on top in a round robin series of battles will lead them all to Germany. But Yeti continues to target Bex and his crew, and as the violence escalates, there's growing dissension in the ranks. Further complicating matters, Bex's wife, Sue (Lesley Manville, Oldman's one-time wife and another Leigh regular), takes a dim view of his violent "hobby," and their relationship takes another hit when their toddler son gets hold of Bex's beloved Stanley knife. The Firm's airing on the BBC created some controversy. Clarke went on to direct the influential experimental film Elephant before he died of cancer in 1990. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gary Oldman
- 1986
- R
Bob (George Costigan) and his wife Michelle (Lesley Sharp) hire Sue (Michelle Holmes) and Rita (Siobhan Finneran) to baby-sit in this sex comedy. Bob is distracted by the two plump teens while giving them a ride home, and Rita and Sue take turns having sex with Bob in the car, later comparing his manhood to "a frozen sausage." Bob feels like a big man and continues seeing the two tarts. Michelle leaves Bob when she hears about him dancing scandalously with the two teens at a steamy nightclub. Rita moves in with Bob, while Sue enters into an unsatisfying relationship with Aslam (Ghir Kulvindar). The two women realize they were happy to share Bob and make plans to continue the menage a trois. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Michelle Holmes, Siobhan Finneran, (more)
Director Alan Clarke's influential television drama Made in Britain marked the screen debut of actor Tim Roth. Roth plays Trevor, a skinhead with a swastika tattoo on his forehead who lashes out verbally and sometimes physically at everything that surrounds him. Cinematographer Chris Menges (who would go on to win Oscars for his work on The Killing Fields and The Mission), gets his camera right in Roth's snarling face, as the film tracks Trevor's progress through the British justice system. In the courtroom, charged with attacking a Pakistani man and vandalizing his store, Trevor displays absolutely no remorse as he matter-of-factly admits that he knew the man would have to be hospitalized for his injuries. Trevor's social worker, Harry (Eric Richard), recognizes Trevor's intelligence, but he's running out of ways to convince Trevor to straighten out his life. Harry takes him to a juvenile detention center for "assessment," after which he'll be sentenced. Trevor immediately dismisses Peter (Bill Stewart), the put-upon supervisor of the center, as a "wanker." He meets his black roommate, Errol (Terry Richards), whom he quickly convinces to come out with him on a car-stealing, glue-sniffing, job-center-vandalizing day trip. Brazenly returning to the detention center in a stolen car, Trevor eventually provokes Peter into locking him in a classroom, so a police superintendent (Geoffrey Hutchings) can harangue him about the hopeless path his life is taking. Trevor refuses to accept the center's (and society's) standards for "good behavior," raging that they all just want everyone to follow the rules and keep their mouths shut. The script was written by David Leland (Wish You Were Here) and the songs on the soundtrack are by the anarchist hardcore band the Exploited. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- 1979
- R
Scum refers to the label slapped upon reform-school inmate Ray Winstone. Such reformatories are called "borstals" by the British. When he isn't being beaten up by the other boys, Ray is being beaten down by The System. He rebels against this treatment and "wins" by becoming more vicious than any of his oppressors. Scum was originally filmed for British television, but rejected because of the bleakness of its outlook. In America, it went straight into theatres, where audiences had to strain to comprehend the "punk" jargon and thick provincial accents. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, (more)
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