Jamie Morgan, a young man with a large heart-shaped birthmark on his face, discovers that there are demons on the streets of East London.Jamie Morgan, a young man with a large heart-shaped birthmark on his face, discovers that there are demons on the streets of East London.Jamie Morgan, a young man with a large heart-shaped birthmark on his face, discovers that there are demons on the streets of East London.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 1 nomination
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPhilip Ridley's first film in 15 years. Ridley spent the intervening years writing plays and children's books.
- Quotes
Papa B: Man is most creative at a time of peace and calm... I don't think so. Give Mankind nothing but calm and order, and Mankind is nothing on its own but a grazing cow. Man needs to be unpredictable to feel truly alive. To progress. To create. Mother Nature knows this. That's why she gives us cyclones, tsunamis. But sometimes, just sometimes, Mother Nature, she can't do it all. So what happens then? I help.
- SoundtracksThis Is the World We Live In
Music by 'Nick Bicát'
Lyrics by Philip Ridley
Performed by Ciaran Gribbin (as Joe Echo)
Produced by Ciaran Gribbin (as Joe Echo) and Ian Green
Jamie Morgan (Jim Sturgess) is a young 25-year old photographer living in a squalid area of London with his loving mother (Marion Morgan): Jamie bears a birthmark on his face and the upper torso that makes him the victim of prejudice by the boys in the neighborhood and has resulted in his living the life of a recluse. Jamie's brother and nephew (Luke Treadway and Justin Salinger) stay close to the home but are preoccupied with other matters - some good some bad. Jamie longs for his departed father (Timothy Spall) who 'made the world make sense' and he longs for a relationship with a girl so that he can have a family and be normal. Walking the streets at night Jamie hears screams and witnesses sights that terrify him: he is aware that gangs rule the world and in time he is assaulted with his mother during a night walk and his mother is killed. In an attempt to find sense out of chaos Jamie becomes friends with a new neighbor AJ (Noel Clarke) and is offered a handgun by a local merchant (Frazer Ayers) 'to protect himself. As Jamie becomes more terrified with the creatures he sees in the night and angered by the death of his mother he ultimately meets Papa B (Joseph Mawle) who just happens to have strange powers to offer Jamie anything he wishes. Jamie makes a pact with Papa B, agreeing to promote chaos in the streets in the form of writing graffiti in turn for Papa B removing the ugly birthmark from his body. Papa B's young girl assistant Charlie (Nadia Theaker) bonds with Jamie and becomes like the daughter Jamie has always wanted.
Now, without the physical disfigurement Jamie attracts a pretty delivery girl Tia (Clémence Poésy) and seems to have found his wishes come true - with Tia and Charlie as family. But Papa B has other plans and sends his Weapons Man (Eddie Marsan) who gives Jamie an altered version of his assignment from his pact with Papa B and the world becomes ruled by horror. How Jamie responds to his new bizarre assignments changes the course of the tale, a course best not shared in a review.
Jim Sturgess makes this role of a seemingly impossible spectrum of acting an example of just how skilled he has become in his craft. The cast is good but burdened with many aspects of the bizarre that keep the viewer form connecting in a positive way. The cinematography by Matt Gray is appropriately dark and the visual effects, though excessively ugly, make the atmosphere of this dark tale work. It is a strange film and requires that viewer to suspend disbelief, but the impact and underlying message is strong.
Grady Harp
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $5,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $3,697
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,033
- Nov 21, 2010
- Gross worldwide
- $20,435
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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