Face (1997 film)
Encyclopedia
Face is a British crime drama directed by Antonia Bird
and written by Ronan Bennett
. It stars Robert Carlyle
and Ray Winstone
and features the acting debut of rock singer Damon Albarn
.
modified as a battering ram
, the group break into a security depot in London
and steal a large amount of money before the police arrive. However, they discover they barely got the amount of money they wanted, and only £65,000 to each man. Julian demands an extra amount of money as "expenses" for his work, but is beaten and placed in the boot of Ray's car until he just accepts his share. The group, without Julian, later spend time at a bar with fellow criminal Sonny, and Ray's girlfriend Connie, a protestor. 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 emotionally 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 headwound. The four are alerted to a pair of undercover police officers and flee, Dave and Julian engaging in a shootout 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 blackmail
ed by his daughter's boyfriend Chris, a corrupted police officer, to gain him the money to protect his daughter from harm. Dave also murdered Linda, Bill, Jason and Sonny. The group attack 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 where upon 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 gain the money, but Julian turns on the other two and gains all the money. However, an alarm goes off, prompting Julian to go on a shooting frenzy and makes a one man stand against all of the police in the building whilst Ray and Stevie, who is shot in the leg during the madness, escape safely with Julian's fate assumed to be being arrested after being knocked out with a knock-out gas bomb. They go to the M1 service station and are picked up by Connie, the three driving off to begin life anew.
01. Everything Has a Price to Pay - Paul Weller
02. Feel the Sunshine (DJ Pulse Remix) - Alex Reece
03. Opium Shuffle Death in Vegas
04. London Calling - The Clash
05. Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards - Billy Bragg
06. Bullet (Bitten) - Fluke
07. Doin' Jobz 4tha Mob [Radio Edit] - Pigforce
08. New Era
09. Lucky - Lewis Taylor
10. Subside - Monkeys
11. Snakes Pass [Remix] - A.P.E.
12. On and On - Longpigs
13. London, Can You Wait? - Gene
14. Standing in Your Shadow - Puressence
Antonia Bird
Antonia Bird is an English television drama and feature film director.-Life and career:Bird was born in London. She began her career at the Royal Court Theatre before moving to television in the mid 1980s, directing episodes of EastEnders , Casualty , and drama serials like Thin Air and The Men's...
and written by Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett
Ronan Bennett is a Northern Irish novelist and screenwriter. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family headed by William H. and Geraldine Bennett at 420 Merville Garden Village in the Whitehouse area of Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland. Since its development in the late-1940s, Merville has...
. It stars Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
and Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
and features the acting debut of rock singer Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn
Damon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
.
Plot Summary
Five men, criminals Ray, Dave, Stevie, Julian ("Julie" as a nickname), and Jason, plan a heist to steal a minimum of £3 million. Using a truckTruck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
modified as a battering ram
Battering ram
A battering ram is a siege engine originating in ancient times and designed to break open the masonry walls of fortifications or splinter their wooden gates...
, the group break into a security depot in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and steal a large amount of money before the police arrive. However, they discover they barely got the amount of money they wanted, and only £65,000 to each man. Julian demands an extra amount of money as "expenses" for his work, but is beaten and placed in the boot of Ray's car until he just accepts his share. The group, without Julian, later spend time at a bar with fellow criminal Sonny, and Ray's girlfriend Connie, a protestor. 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 emotionally 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 headwound. The four are alerted to a pair of undercover police officers and flee, Dave and Julian engaging in a shootout 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
M1 motorway
The M1 is a north–south motorway in England primarily connecting London to Leeds, where it joins the A1 near Aberford. While the M1 is considered to be the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the United Kingdom, the first road to be built to motorway standard in the country was the...
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 blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
ed by his daughter's boyfriend Chris, a corrupted police officer, to gain him the money to protect his daughter from harm. Dave also murdered Linda, Bill, Jason and Sonny. The group attack 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 where upon 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 gain the money, but Julian turns on the other two and gains all the money. However, an alarm goes off, prompting Julian to go on a shooting frenzy and makes a one man stand against all of the police in the building whilst Ray and Stevie, who is shot in the leg during the madness, escape safely with Julian's fate assumed to be being arrested after being knocked out with a knock-out gas bomb. They go to the M1 service station and are picked up by Connie, the three driving off to begin life anew.
Cast
- Robert CarlyleRobert CarlyleRobert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
– Ray - Ray WinstoneRay WinstoneRaymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
– Dave - Steven WaddingtonSteven WaddingtonSteven Waddington is an English actor who is probably best known for his supporting role in Michael Mann's The Last of the Mohicans. He trained at East 15 Acting School in Loughton Essex. His first film role was as the eponymous king in Derek Jarman's Edward II...
– Stevie - Philip Davis – Julian
- Damon AlbarnDamon AlbarnDamon Albarn is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur...
– Jason - Lena HeadeyLena HeadeyLena Headey is an English actress. Headey's performance in a one-off show when she was 17 caught the attention of a casting agent, who took a photo and asked her to audition and eventually she got a supporting role alongside Jeremy Irons and Ethan Hawke in the 1992 British drama film Waterland and...
– Connie - Andrew TiernanAndrew TiernanAndrew James Tiernan is an English actor.-Theatre:Tiernan began acting with the Birmingham Youth Theatre and moved to London in 1984 to study a three-year Diploma in Acting at the Drama Centre London run by Christopher Fettes and Yat Malmgren...
– Chris - Peter VaughanPeter VaughanPeter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
– Sonny - Sue JohnstonSue JohnstonSusan "Sue" Johnston, OBE is a BAFTA nominated English actress best known for playing Sheila Grant in the long-running soap opera Brookside , Grace Foley in Waking the Dead from 2000 to 2011 and Barbara Royle in the BBC comedy The Royle Family between 1998 and 2000, and again in 2006, 2008, 2009,...
– Alice - Steve SweeneySteve SweeneySteve Sweeney is an American comedian.-Biography:Sweeney was born in Charlestown, a section of Boston. His Boston accent and idiosyncratic mannerisms are trademarks of his stand-up act, headlining at comedy clubs across the country, including Caroline's Comedy Club in New York City.A graduate of...
– Weasel
Official Soundtrack
Track Listing01. Everything Has a Price to Pay - Paul Weller
02. Feel the Sunshine (DJ Pulse Remix) - Alex Reece
03. Opium Shuffle Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic rock band from the United Kingdom, comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes...
04. London Calling - The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
05. Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards - Billy Bragg
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg , better known as Billy Bragg, is an English alternative rock musician and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, and his lyrics mostly deal with political or romantic themes...
06. Bullet (Bitten) - Fluke
Fluke (band)
Fluke are an English electronic music group formed in the late 1980s by Mike Bryant, Jon Fugler and Mike Tournier with Julian Nugent as the band's manager...
07. Doin' Jobz 4tha Mob [Radio Edit] - Pigforce
08. New Era
09. Lucky - Lewis Taylor
10. Subside - Monkeys
11. Snakes Pass [Remix] - A.P.E.
12. On and On - Longpigs
13. London, Can You Wait? - Gene
Gene (band)
Gene were an English alternative rock quartet that rose to prominence in the mid 1990s. Formed in 1993, they were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew comparisons to The Smiths because of their Morrissey-esque lead singer, Martin Rossiter. Gene's music was influenced by The Jam, The...
14. Standing in Your Shadow - Puressence
Puressence
Puressence are a British rock band from Failsworth, Greater Manchester, England, formed in May 1992.-Band membership:The band currently consists of:*James Mudriczki: Vocals*Lowell Killen: Guitar*Kevin Matthews: Bass guitar...