Funded by the UK Film Council, �Straightheads� has gone for polar opposites in choosing its leads. From the mean streets of cockney gangster films, it�s Danny Dyer, paired with former Sci-Fi queen Gillian Anderson, who has found a new lease of life in British productions such as �A Cock & Bull Story� and BBC drama �Bleak House�. It�s an odd pairing, but one necessary considering the film�s story.
Young security-alarm fitter Adam (Dyer) is invited to a formal corporate party by his attractive and sexually aggressive client Alice (Anderson). Having had an amazing night that ends in them having sex, the pair drive back only to be attacked in the most brutal way imaginable. Adam is half blinded, Alice is violated by one of the gang that jump them. Psychologically scarred by events, Alice decides that the only way to get closure is to take matters into her own hands, and the couple hunt down their attackers.
Taking its cues from Shane Meadows� glorious �Dead Man�s Shoes�, this dark revenge thriller is sadly lacking where the former film flourished. With a subject as harrowing as rape and psychological trauma, the film needs a strong story to justify its means. Sadly writer/director Reed gives us an uneven affair that, as a result, feels gratuitous.
Alice is the most fleshed out, with Anderson providing a performance that carries the movie, understanding her character and putting in the effort to make you believe this is a strong woman stripped of all her confidence by one vile act. Anthony Calf provides a brief but memorable performance as Alice�s attacker, the mentally destroyed �Heffer�. Unfortunately, these gems are surrounded by badly sketched stereotypes, such as Jamie and Bill, the two-dimensional ex-army nutters. Coupled with this is a reluctance to shed much light on the villains, jumps in time and occasionally laughable dialogue (Dyer�s lament for a dead dog being a prime example). Dyer himself is totally out of his depth in this level of drama. Sticking to his �geezer� formula, he sticks out like a sore thumb throughout.
Throw in a virtually unused character in �Heffer�s� daughter Sophie (Francesca Fowler), an unexplained connection between her and Alice, and a bizarre ending, you�ve got a very disappointing film. Shock fans may find some entertainment in the graphic scenes, but as a legitimate film it teeters just above straight-to-DVD territory.
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