High Heels and Low Lifes
Encyclopedia
High Heels and Low Lifes is a 2001 action
comedy-drama
film
starring Minnie Driver
, Mary McCormack
, Kevin McNally
, Mark Williams
, Danny Dyer
and Michael Gambon
. It was directed by Mel Smith
and written by Kim Fuller
and Georgia Pritchett. The film was remade in Bollywood as Paisa Vasool
starring Manisha Koirala
and Sushmita Sen
.
) and Frances (Mary McCormack
), attempting to con a group of gangsters, led by Kerrigan (Michael Gambon
) and Mason (Kevin McNally
), into giving them £1,000,000 after they overhear a conversation between gang members during a local bank heist. The idea is that the money would later be used to fund the purchase of a large amount of expensive hospital equipment for the hospital where Shannon works as an overworked and underpaid nurse. Frances, a failing American actress who has resorted to auditioning for children's cartoons, wants the money so that she can get out of the rut she believes she is stuck in, and also because she wants a Mercedes
to replace her aging Pontiac Firebird
.
Throughout the course of the film, the women threaten the mobsters in order to persuade them to give them a cut of the heist money. As the film progresses, the danger the women are in becomes more obvious, and just as it appears that they are out of their depth when Frances' car is blown up and Shannon is almost kidnapped, they successfully break into Mason's house and confront him and one of his gang. A mass shoot-out occurs after it becomes clear that the girls have stolen all of Mason's guns and have bagged all the money. They manage to get away in the gang members' Porsche Boxster
with the bags of money. The hospital equipment is delivered to Shannon's hospital anonymously, as Shannon and Frances look on. They then drive off into London in the Mercedes CLK that they bought with some of the money, happy that they have done the right thing.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
comedy-drama
Comedy-drama
Comedy-drama is a genre of theatre, film and television programs which combines humorous and serious content.-Theatre:Traditional western theatre, beginning with the ancient Greeks, was divided into comedy and tragedy...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
starring Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver
Minnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
, Mary McCormack
Mary McCormack
Mary Catherine McCormack is an American actress. Best known for her work in television, she has had leading roles as Justine Appleton in the series Murder One , as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in The West Wing and as Mary Shannon in In Plain Sight .Her film roles include Private...
, Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
, Mark Williams
Mark Williams (actor)
Mark Williams is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter and presenter. He is best known as one of the stars of the popular BBC sketch show The Fast Show, as well as for his role as Arthur Weasley in the Harry Potter films....
, Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer
Danny Dyer is an English actor, media personality, and chairman of Greenwich Borough, a non-League football team.-Biography:Daniel John Dyer was born in Custom House, an area of East London, to Antony and Christine Dyer...
and Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
. It was directed by Mel Smith
Mel Smith
Melvin Kenneth "Mel" Smith is an English comedian, writer, film director, producer, and actor. He is most famous for his work on the sketch comedy shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Griff Rhys Jones.- Early life :Smith's father, Kenneth, was born...
and written by Kim Fuller
Kim Fuller
Kim Fuller is a British writer for film, radio and television. His brother Simon Fuller is Britain's most successful music manager as manager of Annie Lennox and The Spice Girls amongst others and creator of the Idol Series...
and Georgia Pritchett. The film was remade in Bollywood as Paisa Vasool
Paisa Vasool
Paisa Vasool is a 2004 Indian film directed by Srinivas Bhashyam starring Manisha Koirala and Sushmita Sen. The film was produced by actress Manisha Koirala. The film is an uncredited remake of 2001 Hollywood movie High Heels and Low Lifes....
starring Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala
Manisha B. Koirala is a Nepali-Indian actress who works in Indian films, as well as a UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and social activist. Koirala has primarily worked in Hindi cinema, though she has appeared in several Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam films as well...
and Sushmita Sen
Sushmita Sen
Sushmita Sen is an Indian actress who appears in mainly Bollywood films. A former model, Sen was crowned Miss Universe in 1994. She was the first Indian woman to win the contest.-Personal life:Sen was born on 19 November 1975....
.
Plot
The film follows the story of two women living in London, Shannon (Minnie DriverMinnie Driver
Minnie Driver is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.- Early life...
) and Frances (Mary McCormack
Mary McCormack
Mary Catherine McCormack is an American actress. Best known for her work in television, she has had leading roles as Justine Appleton in the series Murder One , as Deputy National Security Adviser Kate Harper in The West Wing and as Mary Shannon in In Plain Sight .Her film roles include Private...
), attempting to con a group of gangsters, led by Kerrigan (Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
) and Mason (Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
), into giving them £1,000,000 after they overhear a conversation between gang members during a local bank heist. The idea is that the money would later be used to fund the purchase of a large amount of expensive hospital equipment for the hospital where Shannon works as an overworked and underpaid nurse. Frances, a failing American actress who has resorted to auditioning for children's cartoons, wants the money so that she can get out of the rut she believes she is stuck in, and also because she wants a Mercedes
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
to replace her aging Pontiac Firebird
Pontiac Firebird
The Pontiac Firebird was built by the Pontiac division of General Motors between 1967 and 2002. The Firebird was introduced the same year as the automaker's platform-sharing model, the Chevrolet Camaro...
.
Throughout the course of the film, the women threaten the mobsters in order to persuade them to give them a cut of the heist money. As the film progresses, the danger the women are in becomes more obvious, and just as it appears that they are out of their depth when Frances' car is blown up and Shannon is almost kidnapped, they successfully break into Mason's house and confront him and one of his gang. A mass shoot-out occurs after it becomes clear that the girls have stolen all of Mason's guns and have bagged all the money. They manage to get away in the gang members' Porsche Boxster
Porsche Boxster
The Porsche Boxster is a mid-engined roadster built by Porsche. The Boxster is Porsche's first road vehicle to be originally designed as a roadster since the 550 Spyder....
with the bags of money. The hospital equipment is delivered to Shannon's hospital anonymously, as Shannon and Frances look on. They then drive off into London in the Mercedes CLK that they bought with some of the money, happy that they have done the right thing.