''Face'' is a 1997 British

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combin ...

directed by

Antonia Bird Antonia Jane Bird, FRSA (27 May 1951 – 24 October 2013Kate Hardi"Antonia Bird obituary" ''The Guardian'', 28 October 2013) was an English producer and director of television drama and feature films. Career In 1968, at the age of 17, Bird ...

and written by Ronan Bennett. It stars

Robert Carlyle Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...

and

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

and features the acting debut of singer Damon Albarn.

Plot

Five men, criminals Ray, Dave, Stevie, Julian ("Julie" as a nickname), and Jason, plan a heist to steal a minimum of £2 million. Using a

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

modified as a

battering ram A battering ram is a siege engine that originated in ancient times and was designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates. In its simplest form, a battering ram is just a large, heavy log carried b ...

, the group break into a security depot in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and steal a large amount of money before the police arrive. They discover they got much less money than they expected and only get £68,000 each. Julian demands an extra sum for "expenses" for his work but is beaten and placed in the boot of Ray's car until he accepts his share. The group, without Julian, later spend time at a bar with Jason's uncle and fellow criminal Sonny, and Ray's girlfriend Connie, a

protester A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooper ...

. Ray and Stevie also visit an elderly couple, Linda and Bill, where they leave their stolen money for safekeeping. The next day, Ray and Stevie, who live together with Connie, are alerted by a bruised Dave that his money was stolen, apparently by Julian. Ray, Dave, and Stevie investigate Linda and Bill's home to find them murdered and the money stolen, leaving Ray distraught. He visits Julian but his money is missing too. They conclude that Sonny stole the money and break into his house, only to find Jason dead with a head wound. The four are alerted to a pair of undercover police officers and flee, Dave and Julian exchanging fire with the police. Believing that he may be arrested for murder, Ray decides to flee after the money is found and goes to his mother and Connie for help. His mother gives him some money and her car to use, disappointed in her son's career but still caring for him. Ray then speaks with Connie and asks her to come with him and to meet her at a roadside service station on the M1 if she decides to come. Ray visits the bar and learns from John the bartender that Dave left in a taxi with Jason and Sonny after the heist. Dave is beaten and interrogated by Ray, Stevie, and Julian, revealing he was being blackmailed by his daughter's boyfriend Chris, a corrupt police officer, to gain him the money to protect his daughter from harm. Dave also murdered Linda, Bill, Jason, and Sonny. The group attacks Chris in his apartment and he is forced to reveal that the money is in a locker room at a local police station. Dave is taken upstairs by the rest of the gang whereupon he sees a tray of prepared cocaine, enraging Dave to the point that he chokes Chris to death. Stevie and Julian remove Sarah and Ray shoots Dave for his treachery and his murders. Ray, Stevie, and Julian sneak into the police station and recover the money but Julian turns on the other two and takes all the money. An alarm goes off, prompting Julian to go on a shooting frenzy and makes a one-man stand against all the police in the building, whilst Ray and Stevie, who is shot in the leg during the madness, escape with Julian's fate assumed to be being arrested after being knocked out with a gas bomb. They go to the M1 service station and are picked up by Connie, the three driving off to begin life anew.

Cast

– Ray *

– Dave * Steven Waddington – Stevie * Philip Davis – Julian * Damon Albarn – Jason *

Lena Headey Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series ''Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she rec ...

– Connie * Andrew Tiernan – Chris *

Peter Vaughan Peter Vaughan (born Peter Ewart Ohm; 4 April 1923 – 6 December 2016) was an English character actor known for many supporting roles in British film and television productions. He also acted extensively on the stage. He is perhaps best know ...

– Sonny * Christine Tremarco – Sarah * Sue Johnston – Alice * Steve Sweeney – Weasel *

Gerry Conlon Gerard Patrick "Gerry" Conlon (1 March 1954 – 21 June 2014) was an Irish man known for being one of the Guildford Four who spent 15 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of being a Provisional IRA bomber. Biography Gerard Conlon was ...

– Vince

Soundtrack

Track listing
01. "Everything Has a Price to Pay" -

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul mu ...

02. "

Feel the Sunshine "Feel the Sunshine" is a 1995 song by British drum and bass producer Alex Reece featuring vocals by singer Deborah Anderson, who also co-wrote the lyrics. It was included on Reece's debut album, ''So Far'', which was released in September 1996. T ...

(DJ Pulse Remix)" - Alex Reece
03. "Opium Shuffle" -

Death in Vegas Death in Vegas are an English electronic music group, for which Richard Fearless serves as frontman. The band was formed in 1994 by Fearless and Steve Hellier and signed to Concrete Records under the name of Dead Elvis. Owing to an Irish record ...

04. "London Calling" -

The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

05. "Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards" - Billy Bragg
06. "Atom Bomb" - Fluke
07. "Kill me" - Space
08. "Doin' Jobz 4tha Mob (Radio Edit)" - Pigforce
09. "New Era"
10. "Lucky" -

Lewis Taylor Andrew Lewis Taylor (born 20 January 1966) is a British multi-instrumentalist musician, born and raised in Barnet, North London, England, in the late 1960s. He started in the music business as a guitarist touring with the psychedelic rock band ...

11. "Subside" - Monkey
12. "Snakes Pass (Remix)" - A.P.E.
13. "On and On" -

Longpigs Longpigs were an English indie rock band who rose to fame on the fringe of Britpop in the 1990s, comprising Crispin Hunt (vocals), Richard Hawley (guitar), Simon Stafford (bass guitar) and former Cabaret Voltaire member Dee Boyle (drums) who w ...

14. "London, Can You Wait?" -

Gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

15. "Standing in Your Shadow" - Puressence
16. "Bullet" - Fluke

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Face (1997 Film) 1997 films 1997 crime films British crime films 1990s English-language films British heist films British films about revenge Films set in London Films shot in London Films directed by Antonia Bird 1990s British films