Saw a preview of this last night. Still not completely sure what I made of it to be honest. It's a very short film at only 1 hour and twenty minutes and despite this it still feels a little padded as though there wasn't enough story to make it long enough to be a feature film. The key scenes are graphic and harrowing enough and I definitely left with a bad taste in my mouth. Gillian Anderson was probably the best thing about the film but I don't really buy Danny Dyer playing opposite her and there were certain scenes that were unintentionally humorous because of this. Dyer has definitely been a little miscast here and it does make you wonder whether it could have been better with a different leading man. The other problem I have with a film of this type is that in order for you to care about the plight of characters I believe you need at least a little insight into their lives prior to what we are seeing on screen, we need to know about who they are in order to root for them and I never really felt this film gave us the big picture in this regard. Despite it's flaws it's still a watchable drama/thriller but with a few more original ideas and a little added characterisation it could have been a whole lot better.
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barrow-521 April 2007
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hipp_dude29 April 2007Quite a short feature film, although you do not actually notice this when watching. Great to see Gillian Anderson on screen again, and to be honest i would not have predicted this role for her however she was well cast.
Personally i quite enjoyed the slightly comedic satire that ran through some of the scenes, and i think Danny Dyer helped with this. It is hard to tell if the film would have maybe been stronger with a different leading male, but then Dyer plays the 'male struggling with his emasculation.
Definitely lacking depth, i left wishing i had known exactly what happens with Anderson's character and her father, along with simply wishing i knew Dyer's character better.
Some uncomfortable scenes which i felt were not always necessary, although they do help to give the film an edginess that i liked. Basically it was brutally real and honest, very un-Hollywood. I would maybe say rent instead of watching at the cinema. -
ThrownMuse30 September 2007A wealthy businesswoman (Gillian Anderson) and her newly acquired working class lover (Danny Dyer) are viciously attacked while on a drive the woods. Afterwards, the only thing the woman can think of is revenge, and she calculates a plan to fulfill that. This is an intriguing modern-day "rape/revenge" thriller that focuses more on psychology and gender (as well as other social constructs) instead of the violence and action sequences that typically go hand-in-hand with the subgenre. That said, rape/revenge fans most likely won't be disappointed with this one, as it's fairly brutal and shocking. It's a little short, clocking in just over 70 minutes, so by the end I thought to myself, "is that all there is?" Yet the film did have something of an impact on me, because I found myself thinking about it all the next day and recommending it to friends. Gillian Anderson is excellent and does things you would never in a million years think you'd see Gillian Anderson do on-screen. I'll leave it at that. Danny Dyer also gives a fantastic dramatic performance. I'm not sure why he gets such a bad rap in the UK. He isn't quite famous in the States yet, but he's great in the few films I've seen him in. Thumbs up on this thought-provoking thriller, though I can't help feeling there's a chunk of the film missing.
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Mr_Saxon27 September 2007When Alice (Gillian Anderson), a middle-class businesswoman, meets Adam (Danny Dyer) a working-class surveillance expert, she invites him to a party. Thus begins a night that neither will ever forget. After encountering a group of locals on a country road, a shocking incident takes place that sees Adam lose an eye whilst Alice is brutally raped. Several weeks later, Alice crosses paths with one of their attackers...
I had heard a lot about this movie, although most of what I'd heard revolved around a scene near the end of the film involving Anderson's use of a gun barrel. For the most part, the violence in this movie was implied rather than shown. The rape itself is disturbing although we are treated to not just one showing of it but two (the second time, it is shown through the eyes of Anderson's attacker). This seemed slightly gratuitous to me.
Both of the main leads turn in great performances with special praise going out to Gillian Anderson. In all of the years watching "The X-Files" I never quite imagined that I'd see her in as powerful a role as this. It seems a shame then that they don't have any chemistry together. They just weren't convincing as two people who fell in lust with one another in the space of a few hours.
After the horror of the first act, the movie doesn't seem to know what to do with itself. We see the two victims planning their revenge (initiated by an extraordinary coincidence) and trying to come to terms with what has happened to them. However, there isn't really any substance to these scenes. Their planning of revenge simply consists of creeping around spying on their attackers, and the scenes in which they try to deal with their anguish don't work either as both characters aren't given enough depth for us to care about them.
The final scenes seem to come out of nowhere and are carried out in such a way that they're not satisfying to the audience. One of the bad guys suddenly gives a sympathetic story about why he did what he did - are we now meant to agree he had no other choice? One of the victims suddenly feels regret about what is happening to the attackers. Are we supposed to now feel the same? If there is an intended message, it isn't at all clear.
Ultimately this movie is a hollow experience. It doesn't engage the audience as it should and doesn't appear to know what exactly it's trying to say. -
UnholyOne14 September 2007Although not strictly a horror film this has many elements that will appeal to the horror fan. Danny Dyer (once again doing his Cockney geezer act) and Gillian Anderson play a couple that are travelling home from a party when they upset some locals, resulting in Dyer being savagely beaten, losing an eye in the process and Anderson raped. Months later Anderson comes across the rapist and sees her chance for revenge, however things are not as straight forward as they appear. This comes across at first like just another rape revenge film but when Anderson confronts her rapist we learn there is more to it than first appears. Dyer plays more or less the same role he always plays, although a lot darker this time and the unusual pairing with The X-Files Anderson somehow works. There is some strong violence, including anal rape with a loaded rifle and good performances all round. Not perfect but still an enjoyable thriller (and Gillian Anderson goes topless). 7/10
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anxietyresister19 January 2008To call Straightheads the best Danny Dyer film I've seen is to damn with faint praise. In my humble opinion, the guy cannot act. He just stands there and growls his lines, and you think: how the hell does this guy get plum roles in so many British films? Photogenic he may be, but when it comes to performing, he is never less than completely pants. At least Gillian Anderson is on hand to lend proceedings a touch of class, but the guy is still a millstone hanging around the neck of this thriller/drama.
Alice is a thirty-something worker who is having a security system fitted in her house. She decides to take the 23 year old installer Adam out to a party she is attending, and while there she makes out with him against a tree. On the return journey however, our loving couple make the mistake of angering a van full of psychos in an extreme case of road rage. This ends up in Adam being grievously injured, and Alice being raped. A month later, they are still recovering from the events of the day. But then, Alice finds out the identity of one of the attackers. Adam is quite happy to let sleeping dogs lie, but Alice, armed with this new information wants revenge. And being the daughter of an ex-soldier has distinct advantages...
You'll probably go into this 18 rated film with hopes of experiencing a few nice gory and brutal scenes. In which case, it won't disappoint... their are beating with huge spanners, dogs being shot and unspeakable acts done utilising the point of a huge rifle. OUCH! It doesn't outstay its welcome either, at a meagre running time of just 76 minutes. Hmm, wonder what the deleted scenes were like? However, due to the lack of any sympathetic characters, unbelievable plot developments and the usual Dyer (ha ha) acting by you-know-who I can't quite recommend it. 5/10 it is then. Never mind mate, you'll only improve. Maybe... -
lastliberal14 March 2009You were never really sure of the exact relationship between Alice (Gillian Anderson), the cougar businesswoman, and Adam (Danny Dyer), the 23-year-old security installer. Initially, it appeared they just met, but after he was beaten and she was gang raped, he acted like he had known her forever.
After the attack, he is struggling with his masculinity, and she is bent on revenge. Armed with daddy's weapons, she sets out to make the men pay for what they did.
Adam has a real problem. he is no good to her in her quest for revenge, and he is no good to her lying on top of her luscious body.
When Alice went to take revenge, she used Daddy's gun, but not in the way you would think. An eye for an eye; a rape for a rape. Once Adam was turned on to vengeance, she couldn't turn him off.
Good acting by Anderson in a thin movie. -
darnmay17 September 2007Straightheads 2007
Gillian Anderson gives an excellent performance. Her emotions, following the brutal ordeal of her character, are too realistic for comfort. You are compelled to feel revulsion at her plight, and can understand her cry for revenge.
The effects on the couple's relationships, and how they individually perceive revenge is a strong part of the storyline, as is how they both deal with the realisation that 'Revenge is sweet'.
Danny Dyer portrays his character fairly effectively and the mood change towards the end is quite effective, but Gillian Anderson outshines him.
Anthony Calf, who plays the instigator of the brutal rape, puts in a good performance and when he explains to his victim why he felt forced to do what he did, you could almost, but not quite, feel sorry for him.
The Director, Dan Reed, is no stranger to awards for his work. But, these have been for current affairs and social and political documentaries. This thriller is completely different, and appears to be out of his comfort zone. Much more could have been done to enhance the experience that the film could have given.
The advertising says this is 'Straw Dogs' for the next generation. But regretfully this film comes nowhere near Straw Dogs.
Darnmay
September 2007 -
dustinhunter70721 September 2007I thought this movie started out kind of slow because it was just random sex and nudity and then a brutal attack and nothing happened for like 30 minutes. But then it started to get better about 50 minutes into the movie because things start to happen that are relatively entertaining, but some of the scenes are really unnecessary at times. Altogether I give this a 6 out of 10 because it started slow but got a little better and it had a solid ending too. I wouldn't recommend it, but if u want to see a thriller and your bored, then go ahead and give it a chance because Gillian Anderson pulls off a pretty good performance as a victim out for revenge.
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MBunge20 May 2010If this movie had been made in 1990, it might have caused a minor stir. If it had been made in 2000, it would have produced a global nerdgasm of epic proportions. Making it in 2007, though, is just being behind the curve.
The story is about successful British businesswoman Alice (Gillian Anderson) who invites security system installer Adam (Danny Dyer) to a party at her boss' country estate. Adam is very much a working class guy who doesn't fit in with Alice's crowd, but they fit together well enough to slip out into the woods for a quickie. Driving home from the party, they encounter three strangers who beat Adam to a pulp and rape Alice on the hood of her car. We next see Alice and Adam a month after the attacks, living in Alice's apartment and still recovering from the trauma. When she returns to her parent's home after her father dies, Alice sees one of the men who attacked them and she and Adam set out to get even and more.
When I say it would have caused a minor stir 20 years ago, that's because this revenge film casts the woman as the cold hearted seeker of vengeance and the man as her conflicted, reluctant sidekick. Alice is the driving force, both formulating the plans and planning to do the killing herself. Adam, scarred and blind in one eye from the beating, clearly has no appetite for the scheme but clings to Alice like a life jacket at sea. The movie plays nicely with the idea of Adam's scars being visible but Alice's being hidden in her heart and her spirit. It also has a very interesting and provocative take on Adam's sense of emasculation and how he regains his manhood.
If it had come out 10 years ago there also would've been a noticeable reaction because Gillian Anderson gets naked. She's thoroughly topless in just about exactly the way every horny X Files fans ever wanted her to be (and I'm not referring to the rape scene). She was rubbing up against 40 years old when she made this film and does have the somewhat drawn look in the face women can get when they try to be too thin as they enter middle age, but everything between the ankles and the neck is still quite outstanding.
The problem with making a film like this in 2007, though, is that the bar for revenge films is set so high now. The beating and rape, while they would be life-changingly awful in the real world, are fairly tame by this genre's standards. Alice and Adam's violent vengeance itself, except for one penetrating moment, is also pretty unremarkable. And while making the woman the Charles Bronson of the picture is a different take, the movie only establishes and never really explores the dynamic between Alice and Adam. They're more like pieces moved around by the plot than they are characters controlling the story through their actions. And then when the movie flips Alice and Adam's perspective on their terrible intentions, it never really explains why it happens and then ends too quickly to explore how the shift would change the characters' relationship. This is one of those rare films that would have really benefited from being about half an hour longer and going several steps beyond where it now ends.
If it were a fresher, rawer story, its weaknesses wouldn't be as apparent and it could get by on its strengths. But we've seen this story so many times before, with the violence and emotional conflict far more heightened, that you can't help but notice the movie isn't quite as good as it could or should be.
This certainly isn't a bad film but except for Gillian Anderson's impressive boobage, there's really no reason to watch this movie instead of something else. -
miles_brereton17 May 2007Straightheads is an excellent movie that was unfairly slated by the critics. I don't understand why they gave this generally negative reviews. It is a real shame because it stopped people from going to the cinema to see it. It's a violent but provocative drama about an assaulted couple tempted by revenge. It's pretty graphic but we see what violence can do to people. There are violence and sex scenes but they are not gratuitous. The performances are quite good and the characters well developed. The chemistry and sexual tension between Alice -Gillian Anderson- and Adam -Danny Dyer- is sizzling hot and quite erotic. Dan Reed -who makes his feature debut with Straightheads- did a very good job. He makes a character study on the after-effects of violence on female and male identity and introduces vengeance into the story. Anthony Calf, playing the bad guy, did an excellent job too. If you want to see a shocking but good film, go for this one and draw your own conclusions!
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Leofwine_draca1 January 2017Very much in the spirit of a modern-day STRAW DOGS, STRAIGHTHEADS is a lean and gritty thriller that cuts straight to the point with the speed of an arrow. It's a short film that smacks you across the face and leaves you reeling with the level of brutality and nihilism on offer. It's a film that came in under the radar, was pretty much panned by the critics, and disappeared again to line DVD rental shelves and appear on late night television. The latter is where I caught it, and I'm glad I did: I enjoyed this pared-down offering that, while being nothing new, is nevertheless engaging, often shocking fare.
The central casting is pretty unusual. Gillian Anderson takes the lead role, and fans across the globe automatically associate her with Agent Scully from THE X-FILES. In this film, she's a sexually-charged young British businesswoman who's about as far from the prim and proper Scully you can get. Anderson must deal with plenty of traumatic moment, and she's never less than excellent in the part. She also goes nude for the first time in her career, an aspect of this film which garnered more attention than perhaps it should have. She's backed up by Danny Dyer, an up-and-coming young Londoner who seems to be carving a career for himself in these dark, violent movies; I just saw him in SEVERANCE while at the same time catching the ads for OUTLAW amongst others. Dyer's a love-him-or-hate-him type of actor, and I think he's decent here – especially towards the film's climax.
Obviously, violence is the film's main tone and there's a ton of it. The initial rape/assault is as unpleasant as you'd imagine, and it's equalled by some nasty moments at the climax – including one use of a rifle that you wouldn't automatically think of. The script focuses on the unravelling of the central characters and follows their psychosis following the attack, and it's a lot darker than anything Hollywood would dare aim for. This is far from your typical revenge flick – here, Dyer and Anderson are truly hurting, and they show it – a lot. The last act might veer into the kind of predictability that comes from having watched the likes of DELIVERANCE and STRAW DOGS, but it's still well handled – complementing a film I didn't expect much of, but got a lot out of. -
asda-man14 May 2012I love these types of film. Where a man or woman gets horrifically abused and goes on a bloody warpath of revenge! I know the plot is usually thin, but it's often exciting and engrossing enough to carry a film. Just the anticipation of seeing the evil b******s get exactly what they deserve. It's often a feeling of satisfaction. But, it certainly isn't the case with "Straightheads". A film the lottery decided to fund for some bizarre reason! I mean I've written a film and I think it's way better than some of the things I've seen, but do I get any lottery funding? NO!
Rape, revenge is usually quite difficult to get wrong. Even if it does go a bit belly-up it's usually fun and entertaining at least. Actually, the majority of "Straightheads" is quite dull, slow and tedious which is unexpected for its surprisingly short running time of 75 minutes or so. That's about the length of "Inside" and "REC" just think about how much incredible excitement is experienced in those minutes! "Straightheads" sort of failed immediately by being not in the least bit plausible. Would you really ask your slacker camera fitter to go to a party with you? And why would the camera fitter not even question the idea? It starts off weirdly to say the least. When the nasty abuse occurs it's shot in the least effective way with too many clumsy close-ups and basically zero lighting to see what's going on! It also feels quite nasty for the sake of it and doesn't have anywhere near of the directional flair that say, "The Ordeal" expressed during a similar scene.
After this event, you might think that the characters would become a little more likable? They don't, in fact they become even less likable and don't get developed any further either. Am I supposed to like a man who's stoned out of his mind on the sofa, playing weird chav music with porn on his telly? It also doesn't help that Danny Dyer and Gillian Anderson's acting are more wooden than the forest. I felt zero chemistry between the two characters as well, the whole relationship thing was completely unbelievable. Though it wasn't as unbelievable as the pathetic reason given to why the rape occurred!
The film also seems as if it tries to divert from any possible exciting acting that could've actually been quite fun! There's a promising bit where Danny's hiding in the house and one of the men gets a glance at him on the top of the stairs, but nothing really that exciting comes from it! Similarly, there's a part where a daughter runs out the house shouting for her dog which is swiftly avoided with yet another embarrassing sex scene between Danny and Gillian, but don't worry the camera's so clumsy that you can't see a thing!
When the revenge finally does occur (after about an hour of no-suspense building up to it) it's so quick that it feels even more pointless. I don't know if that's what the director's trying to say, that revenge is pointless, but he did it in such a way that it made his whole film pointless! Has he not seen "7 Days" or "I Saw The Devil" which tries to convey the same message in such a gripping and emotional way? (well obviously not because this came out before those two but..) It's also done in a nasty way that just seems like it's trying to shock for the sake of it. It's cringe-worthy and not in a fun "Saw" way, but in a perverted and "why am I watching this?" way!
"Straightheads" does show effective use of direction in the very last minutes but by then it's far too late to care. "Straightheads" is a dull, nasty, implausible, badly written and atrociously directed thriller that thinks it's being way more effective than it is. If you're looking for rip-roaring, emotionally-charged revenge then I would suggest "Kill Bill", "Oldboy", "I Saw The Devil" and other Korean films. Even the remake of "I Spit On Your Grave" is much more intelligent and effective than this. I'd recommend giving this one a miss. -
zulus883 July 2010Dan Reed, an award winning documentary director, débuts with a thriller that will only be watched for its self proclaimed shock value and soon forgotten for the lack of this and, quite frankly, any value whatsoever.
Alice's (Gillian Anderson) and Adam's (Danny Dyer) meeting is one of a chance. After he installs an alarm system in her upper class apartment, she invites him to a dull house warming party in a countryside in the unlike role of a sex toy. Their accident is one of a chance too. Alice hits a deer and they are both forced to pull over to remove the suffering animal from the road. There, they are attacked by three men they passed by earlier on. Adam is brutally beat up and Alice's raped. After one month recovery, she manages to return to work and Adam, with one eye blind and his face scarred stays locked at her home, struggling to overcome his accident inflicted impotence. When Alice learns of her father's death she drives to the countryside again where she encounters one of the rapists. She persuades Adam to take revenge they supposedly deserve.
Reed, with a brief 76 minutes running time, skips any unnecessary expositions but unfortunately in the process, looses most of the motivation for both the characters and the audience. What's left is paper thin. Dyer is his own, low class, laddish caricature and Anderson's middle aged, sexy businesswoman is played on a hysterical autopilot. Even their unlikely affair is played out with no true interest in an inevitable contrast they create. It seems that they both serve a foolish, deus ex machina plot where Reed's main moral concern is whether the revenge is not even more dehumanizing than animalistic behaviour that provokes it. He's bend on making a statement but with no interest in the process, he jumps right to the end far to quickly and makes the whole experience unconvincing and uninteresting.
Straightheads, for the most part, plays out like a character film but the little emotional intimacy that the characters actually share, is blown away by the outbursts of violence and sex. They do little more but emphasize the growing brutalization of Adam and Alice-something so painfully obvious and insubstantial that it's difficult to find any justification for the grim tones that film hits. In its attempt on deep, structured emotional insight into the life post trauma, it seems to be too brief and relies too strongly on in-your-face violence to awake any serious afterthought.
And even despite its length, Straightheads is a drag. With 20 minutes of deleted footage available on the DVD, it looks like it wasn't really sure of its narration's rhythm. It ultimately emphasizes little of the tension and drama that first rate thriller should provide and instead it dwells on cheap, worn out psychology. The metamorphosis of Adam and Alice is foreseeable and because of that disengaging. As the film, unbearably slowly, drifts towards its conclusion, Dyer's restrained pansy regresses into a violent psycho and the film reaches its feeble ending with no constructive point. It all ends too abruptly with ambiguity that is usually reserved for films of explicit intellectual strength. But Adam's stare on the audience remains empty- a worthless gesture, a last failed stunt committed by a film of a stunning, obscure numbness.
Verdict: Straightheads seems like a challenging attempt but comes across as to scared of any serious commitment to its brutal, provocative subject. Instead it will try to shock you with relentless, gruesome images but it's all just a sombre bore. It recalls visceral, nauseating power of Straw Dogs and Irreversible but is nowhere near as engaging, original or graphic.
1.5/5 -
wilfredlola17 November 2022I'm not completely anti danny dyer films. He was in some pretty okay films for a little while.
And this was definitely one of them !
It's definitely elevated with the great gillian anderson on board.
But the two leads both do a great job with bringing alot of depth to the plot to be fair. And showing the after effects of suffering such a tradegy
Obviously like most revenge movies you know where it's all heading really. But the end still manages to be quite intense. And a little surprising.
And I'm pretty sure you may never see gillian anderson taking such " extreme measures" anywhere else (lol)
I would definitely give it at least a 7 /10. -
FlashCallahan3 May 2012After the installation of an alarm system by Adam in her fancy upper class apartment, Alice invites him to go with her in her boss' party in the countryside.
While driving back home on a lonely road, Alice hits a deer and the couple park the car to remove the wounded animal from the road.
However, a van stops and a gang brutally assaults Adam and rapes Alice.
One month later, Adam has awful scars on his face and a blind eye.
Traumatized Alice returns to work. However, she is informed that her father has passed away and she travels back to the countryside to visit her father's home.
While driving back home, she meets one of her rapist by chance and she discovers where he lives.
Alice meets Adam and convinces him to come with her to take revenge...
Another film with Dyer (Dire), and this when he was probably at the height of his career. Anderson adds a little class to what otherwise is a very mundane and worthless dirty film.
After the crime, we spend a lot of time with Dyer and his impotence,and smoking of marijuana, this is supposed to indicate that we are to sympathise w the guy, but it's very hard to.
And the fact that these two people became so close in such a little space of time is beyond ridiculous.
It starts nasty and finishes nasty too. -
smickey4 July 2007The movie is an absolute flop. Bad acting, bad soundtrack, bad story. The swear words are completely out of place, the undressed and intimate scenes are adding nothing to the movie. She is being raped, but you do not feel absolutely sorry for her. On the contrary the only guy who had one sexual relationship with her did it to protect his own daughter. So you end up feeling sorry for him. You simply do not feel any emotions. It's a flat movie. The beaten guy looses an eye. OK. That's bad. But he is such a jerk, a real idiot, so the fact that he stabs out the eye at the end of the movie is disgusting. The spectator is not involved, there is no increase in tension. What was the subject? She being raped? The family drama of the raper? of his daughter? of the friends? Was it a car show of Lexus? Where broken windscreens are automatically repaired over night (Tthat was cheap, laugh!!!) If the subject was revenge I hope the production did not want to compete with comparable movies like The Crow, or Charles Bronson's cult movie. This movie is brutal? Well, to paraphrase the trailer of Hostel II: Britons... they have no imagination
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Straightheads has the pornographic ingredients of a first-rate cult thriller. It's cheap. There is copious foot-age of Gillian Anderson's naked breasts. It features the football über-yob, Danny Dyer, as a super-thick toy boy. The plot is nasty, brutish and short. And the Jacobean twists bring tears to the eyes.
The mismatched heroes are savagely brutalised by cocky farmers after a stag accidentally jumps through the front windscreen of their car. The revenge . . . oh my God, the revenge.
GANG rape, sodomy by rifle and a prolonged, vicious beating. You don't see films quite this unpleasant every day and, even if Straightheads looks as if it was made for about £4, it's been a long time since someone was brave enough to make a such a movie.
This is a pro-feminist terror movie recalling genre classics such as I Spit On Your Grave and Handgun. While lacking the punch of either, at least it's trying to do something different.
The X Files' Gillian Anderson plays wealthy singleton Alice who hires security expert Adam (Danny Dyer) to install CCTV cameras at her home. Fancying a fling, she invites her employee to a country party but on the journey home the pair are set on by a carload of thugs. Adam is left badly scarred while Alice is horribly gang raped. She then convinces Adam to wreak bloody vengeance. Straightheads suffers from a plot that feels half-written and a little too calculated to shock. But with an edgy, queasy vibe that recalls the likes of Straw Dogs, this one gets a recommendation. -
claudio_carvalho11 July 2008After the installation of an alarm system by the twenty-three year old low-class Adam (Danny Dyer) in her fancy upper class apartment, the sophisticated owner Alice (Gillian Anderson) invites him to go with her in her boss' "opening house" boring party in the countryside. Adam dates Alice and has a dream night in the fashionable party inclusive having sex with her. While driving back home in a lonely cobblestone road in the middle of the night, Alice hits a moose and the couple parks the car to remove the wounded animal from the road. However, a van stops and a gang brutally assaults Adam and rapes Alice. One month later, Adam is impotent with Alice, has awful scars in his face and a blind eye and the traumatized Alice returns to her work. However, she is informed that her father has passed away and she travels back to the countryside to visit her father's home. While driving back home, she meets one of her rapist by chance and she discovers where he lives. Alice meets Adam and convinces him to come with her to take revenge against the violent man.
"Closure" is a weird movie, with a promising premise wasted in an awful and pointless screenplay. The story begins with an absolutely poor development of the lead characters: who is upper-middle class Alice; what is her profession; and how is her relationship the "alarm guy" Adam? I understand that they might have had a past since Alice has a suit that fits perfectly in Adam; otherwise she is simply a woman seeking for one night stand. In the story, Alice is a tough character seeking revenge while Adam is weak; however, the situation reverts in the end, and Adam's attitude is totally plausible and believable; but Alice seems to feel sorry and sympathy for the violent rapist and the whole plot becomes senseless and pointless. In my opinion, Dan Reed lost the opportunity to make a great revenge movie like, for example, Neil Jordan's "The Brave One" of the same year (2007) is. My vote is five.
Title (Brazil): Not Available. -
poolandrews10 July 2008Straightheads starts as successful London businesswoman Alice Comfort (Gillian Anderson) talks her security installation guy Adam (Danny Dyer) into attending a big party at her boss's house out in the country, he agrees to go along. While making their way home an unsavoury road rage incident happens on a isolated country road & the incident quickly escalates, Adam is beaten up while Alice is bent over the bonnet of her car & gang raped. For some reason they keep the rape a secret from the police & when by coincidence Alice sees one of her attackers again she & Adam decide to dish out a little of their own sort of justice...
Retitled to Closure in the US this British production was written & directed by Dan Reed & just from the plot synopsis one could be mistaken for thinking Straightheads (the worst film title this Century...) would pan out like a modern retelling of such rape revenge exploitation films such as Straw Dogs (1971), Deliverance (1972), I Spit on Your Grave (1980) or the Death Wish series as big city folk run into several sadistic backwoods inhabitants who decide to have some fun with them before the city folks toughen-up & seek revenge but in actuality it's closer in tone to something like Bad Lieutenant (1992) with it's very stark & minimalistic tone & feel. Like in Bad Lieutenant there's quite a bit of soul searching as the raped eventually forgives the rapist & even saves his life in a rather unsatisfactory ending. Straightheads is an extremely short film clocking in at under 80 minutes & despite such a short running time it's a surprisingly barren & empty film that drags. After the initial rape & attack nothing really happens for ages until an incredibly abrupt ending that I didn't like one bit, I mean I just can't like a rape revenge flick in which the woman who has been raped actually begs for her attackers life to be spared! There's little in the way of effective violence or exploitation which again considering the theme of the film has to be a disappointment. I had a real problem with the character's here, I didn't buy a successful city businesswoman like Alice falling for a twenty something kid at all & within a couple of hours of meeting him Alice is introducing him to her boss, having sex with him & letting him move into her flat. It just didn't ring true to me at all, what would she see in him exactly? Also why did she not tell the police she was raped? No satisfactory answer was ever given as far as I was concerned. Both character's have little in the way of meaningful dialogue, we never really get to know who they are & the rapists & attackers don't come across any better with a pointless little speech at the end in which we are meant to feel some sort of sympathy for the guy. Then there are the highly unlikely coincidences like the way Alice just happens to run into her attacker again & they way that her dad's house is so conveniently only a couple of miles from her attackers house.
I like a good rape revenge exploitation flick & maybe that's my problem with Straightheads because it doesn't really play out to genre expectations, it's far too drama heavy without ever really being that dramatic or moving. The exploitation elements are weak, the rape is not graphic neither is the revenge part of the film. I suppose the most exploitative part is when Anderson anally rapes her rapist with the barrel of her rifle, apart from that the violence is largely off screen & amounts to nothing more than some blood splatter on a window. The film has a dark cold look & tone to it, there's not much colour to the picture & to show & highlight the obvious contrast between the modern clean affluent London against the dirty rustic nature of the English countryside was surely a deliberate decision on the filmmakers part.
Partly funded by National Lottery money Straightheads had a supposed budget of about £1,800,000 & was filmed in a month at the end of 2005 although remained unreleased until mid 2007. Filmed in London & the West Midlands including Worcestershire which is where I live! Not often we get films shot around here I can tell you. The acting is pretty poor in my opinion, no-one seems that interested & what Gillian Anderson is doing in this I will never know although fans of hers take note that she does go topless in this, Danny Dyer as her toy-boy love interest is terrible.
Straightheads could have been a great piece of rape revenge exploitation in the vein of Straw Dogs & I Spit on Your Grave but the poorly written character's & lack of any satisfying revenge means it's a bit of a wasted opportunity although having said that it's alright for what it is, at least it's short & where else are you going to see Gillian Anderson anally rape a guy with the barrel of a rifle? -
steve-356711 July 2008Although I use this site quite frequently to see how other people rated what I think are challenging or just plain enjoyable films, after watching this "movie" on Film Four last night I felt compelled to write something down, even if it just helps cleanse me once again.
The film was possibly the shallowest experience I've ever had - the main characters played by Danny Dyer (23? You sure?) and Gillian Anderson (who will always be Scully as Leonard Nimoy will always be Spock) had no real substance about them - I'm not sure if the first half-hour of the film didn't make the final cut but surely in a revenge movie you would like some empathy with the victims... here I couldn't care less. In fact, the only character I did seem to care about was the dog, with the stag coming a close second. And both animals out-acted Dire (sic) and Scully, who were quite frankly terrible. I guess though you're only as good as the script you are given, and I'd like to warmly thank the writers, the producers, the director and all of the cast for wasting 90 minutes of my life and some perfectly good electricity. -
Rupert177 August 2009A young couple are beaten and raped on the way home from a party in the English countryside. The nature of their relationship has all the hallmarks of a transitory sexual dalliance. Alice, a well-educated professional woman, played by the tremendous Gillian Anderson, and Adam played by Danny Dyer, a younger man installing an elaborate security system in her apartment. An unlikely couple thrown together by lust and opportunity whose connection takes on a much more complex and ambiguous character after the horrific events following the party and then the fortuitous chance to take revenge on the perpetrators.
What appears to be a tale of revenge is really a healing process where uncertainty and doubt surround the quest of the two victims and eventually a denouement where separate solutions are sought and an outcome where fulfillment remains elusive.
I really liked the way director Dan Reed handled the interplay between Alice and Adam after their terrible experience and explored the shifting ground of their relationship, complicated by contact with one of the perpetrators whose actions appear not to be motivated by criminal intent but something rather more understandable. Flawed but fascinating. 8/10 -
harlock-1017 March 2009This film had its problems. The setup was contrived and the father's death convenient, and as a linguist, I had issues with Ms. Anderson's accent.
That being said, I enjoyed the movie immensely. Aside from the accent, I found the acting to be riveting, and everything post rape to be taut to the point of breaking. I was disturbed by the subject matter, but refused to look away because it was believable, and the camera's refusal to look away from the violence I found refreshing. The brutality encased all of the principals in a cocoon that brought out the humanity in a rapist and the rapist in a human being. There were no "good guys" in this movie, only an innocent. Everyone but the daughter end up guilty of something, and this is not explored nearly enough in cinema today. I say well done for the courageous performances, even if the getting there was a greased slide bringing everyone to the point of now return. -
michaelRokeefe9 October 2007This UK psychological thriller is known in the United States as CLOSURE. Exploitation of X-Files' Gillian Anderson, who plays an attractive middle aged businesswoman of substance named Alice. She must attend a business party and invites Adam(Danny Dyer), who just installed a security system for her, to be her escort. On the way home, speeding through the woods on a narrow lane, Alice's auto collides with a deer. After pulling the wounded animal off the road, the couple is savagely attacked by a drunken gang of thugs. Adam is beat to a pulp; Alice is gang raped and both are emotionally and physically devastated by the ruthless attack. When the identities of their attackers are discovered, Alice and Adam set out to exact revenge...brutal revenge. The couple at times find themselves at odds on how to deal with the ruthless attackers. Their final decision is to avenge with no mercy. Let there be no mistake, payback IS hell. Also in the cast: Anthony Calf, Ralph Brown, Francesca Fowler and Antony Byrne. Brutal violence, disturbing images, nudity and graphic rape.
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goopi8319 October 2007I was really looking forward to watching this, being that I love Danny Dyer and I think Gillian Anderson is a gifted actress. The beginning was interesting. I liked the relationship between the two stars. It then quickly jumps to the main plot, which is they get attacked by a group of strangers and Dyer gets beaten extremely bad while Anderson gets raped. They then decide to go for some revenge. Sounds good, right? Well, it's not. The story gets boring and side-tracked, and certain things get really weird. I won't give out any details, but things happen that I, for one, have no desire to see. I like to give all movies the benefit of the doubt, and I really wanted to like this one. It just didn't work out. I give it a 3 out of 10, mainly for the acting.