Long Good Friday

We're continuing on the theme of old but great films, and this weeks entry is Long Good Friday (1980).

What we have here is a very interesting movie and for several different reasons. First off, it is packed to the gills with famous faces. Actors that have since made their marks in British cinema, but at that time were small potatoes. In fact, this was Pierce Brosnan's first movie role, and his entire dialogue is “Hi”. It seemed like every time the scene changed, I had to pop over to IMDB to identify why a new face was familiar, and there were many.

The second reason this is interesting is because the main character, Harold, is played by the late great Bob Hoskins. Hoskins became best known for his comedic roles like Mr. Smee in Hook and Eddie Valentine in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but here he is a stone cold gangster. And he does it so well. Obviously I can't list every one who was in it, but it would be a crime to omit Helen Mirren, who not only plays the Harold's wife, but also made a huge contribution to the story, mostly to avoid having her character be another stereotypical Mob Moll.

The third interesting thing is the story. Chances are that you've seen a variation of it or two. Harold wants to buy up a large portion of land along the Thames in order to build an Olympic Games compound. This would make him astronomically rich, but he needs a financial partner, in this case the mafia. Unfortunately, just when the American mobsters are in town to seal the deal, someone starts blowing up Harold's stuff, putting the deal at risk.

If this sounds a bit familiar it's because many other films have used it. Take Guy Ritchie's RocknRolla (also a good movie). There a London mobster needs Russian mob money for a property deal, and stuff goes wrong, and the heat is on.

Long Good Friday is very much a child of its time, for good and bad, but in the end it's a good movie. It's not as good as Get Carter, but it's not far behind. It was indeed a tremendously pleasant experience, and I recommend it, if for nothing else than to see jolly old Hoskins play a murderous mobster. It is one of the defining films in British crime cinema and with good reason.

That's it for now. If I find another movie to watch, I might write about it next time, and until then, have a great week!