The trouble with most films like these is the predictability of them. While studies have been made on the noir genre and the American gangster genre featuring the rise of the anti-hero and the eventual demise of said role, they really just open up the reader's mind to the possible predictability of any film that falls into these genres. Way back in the classical Hollywood age, it was impossible to show any anti-hero or murderer actually get away with killing someone because it would glorify their actions in the sense they became successful because of it. Shopping falls into the crime genre but is a contemporary British effort although it revolves around criminal activity and that specific activity is carjacking and ram-raiding. It treads close to glorifying it before delivering an ending few would predict incorrectly.
So if after the first thirty minutes we cannot see which way this film is heading then it's quite clear we're not familiar with the genre. It takes a brave director to pull off an effective crime film and have the lead anti-hero get away with it all in the end but Paul W. S. Anderson is not that individual. In Shopping, recently released convict Billy (Law) defies his superegos and goes out on a binge of crime and law breaking with girlfriend Jo (Frost); they steal cars, avoid the police and smash shop windows with the film generally avoiding a clear cut plot until much later when it suddenly realises it needs one to see it through to its conclusion.
Principally, Anderson is cutting his teeth with this film and there is no way he is going to ignore the law that dictates what should happen to criminal anti-heroes. The only thing with this is, if you're going to go down that familiar route at least make it a fun ride along the way. Shopping does not make it an enjoyable ride but rather refrains from story telling until absolutely necessary. Billy, the film's lead, does not have a specific goal and whenever this is the case the film will not have a clear cut narrative. I'm all for films to expand from the monotony of formula and typical stories but for a film to open with two kids racing through a tunnel yelling at the top of their voice as the police chase them and then not really go on from there, is just disappointing.
Along with the lack of a goal, Billy does not have anything at stake bar a re-arrest from policeman Conway (Pryce) but that's never going to happen because if it did, Billy would be locked up for another month or so and the film would end (or become a prison drama, something equally unlikely). The film takes place in an odd place; a dystopian England that could be mistaken for the then near future; a world in which people of a specific culture meet in packs showing off their latest 'steal' much like cavemen huddling around displaying their latest kill. But these people are more like Hell's Angels, only with automobiles instead of motorcycles. The grim buildings and bizarre white lighting during the night scenes complete an odd setting, feeling like something straight out of Blade Runner.
More on the foils for Billy; initially, Conway stands between Billy and his 'goal'; his goal being to go out, commit crime, drive really fast and..........acquire a kettle. I find the antagonism with Conway quite sad because he is really just trying to help this young individual stick to the straight and narrow. Billy can only refuse the aid. Then the film realises it needs a plot to track through to the final third and changes its principal antagonism to a character named Tommy (Pertwee). Tommy is the closest thing you get in the film resembling a gangster, a sort of hard-nut caricature with a jacket and a shaved head. He answers to Venning (Bean), a man who he is indebted to and whose debt will become more complicated when Billy interferes.
So the film all boils down to one massive heist at a retail shop named 'Alaska'. Before we get there, we get some blatant product placement as characters state all the benefits of owning a BMW; the fact that Budweiser is the 'king of beers' and Billy goes out of his way to emphasise Ellesse kettles. There are some daft scenes early on when a police chopper makes itself known alerting everyone to run away before the police arrive and other pursuing police cars seems to disappear when an ambush scene at some garages arrives. But you cannot fault the film for effort and a rather impressive opening scene sees Jo cast away the young woman clichés she should embody when she chucks cassette tapes of current pop music out the back of a stolen car she will not be a part of that culture, as we will learn; she's 'in' with the car obsessed Hell's Angels-type crowd.
While Shopping never falls below that level that makes it a genuinely bad film, it isn't anything spectacular. Whilst deeply flawed, it is interesting to see a low budget; low-key British film trying to shoot car chases and attempting to make some sort of crime saga. But the story is left wanting and the film revolves around absolutely nothing for most of the time. While this isn't a bad thing, it takes a skilled director to deliver that approach and while the intentions were there, director Anderson falls just short.
So if after the first thirty minutes we cannot see which way this film is heading then it's quite clear we're not familiar with the genre. It takes a brave director to pull off an effective crime film and have the lead anti-hero get away with it all in the end but Paul W. S. Anderson is not that individual. In Shopping, recently released convict Billy (Law) defies his superegos and goes out on a binge of crime and law breaking with girlfriend Jo (Frost); they steal cars, avoid the police and smash shop windows with the film generally avoiding a clear cut plot until much later when it suddenly realises it needs one to see it through to its conclusion.
Principally, Anderson is cutting his teeth with this film and there is no way he is going to ignore the law that dictates what should happen to criminal anti-heroes. The only thing with this is, if you're going to go down that familiar route at least make it a fun ride along the way. Shopping does not make it an enjoyable ride but rather refrains from story telling until absolutely necessary. Billy, the film's lead, does not have a specific goal and whenever this is the case the film will not have a clear cut narrative. I'm all for films to expand from the monotony of formula and typical stories but for a film to open with two kids racing through a tunnel yelling at the top of their voice as the police chase them and then not really go on from there, is just disappointing.
Along with the lack of a goal, Billy does not have anything at stake bar a re-arrest from policeman Conway (Pryce) but that's never going to happen because if it did, Billy would be locked up for another month or so and the film would end (or become a prison drama, something equally unlikely). The film takes place in an odd place; a dystopian England that could be mistaken for the then near future; a world in which people of a specific culture meet in packs showing off their latest 'steal' much like cavemen huddling around displaying their latest kill. But these people are more like Hell's Angels, only with automobiles instead of motorcycles. The grim buildings and bizarre white lighting during the night scenes complete an odd setting, feeling like something straight out of Blade Runner.
More on the foils for Billy; initially, Conway stands between Billy and his 'goal'; his goal being to go out, commit crime, drive really fast and..........acquire a kettle. I find the antagonism with Conway quite sad because he is really just trying to help this young individual stick to the straight and narrow. Billy can only refuse the aid. Then the film realises it needs a plot to track through to the final third and changes its principal antagonism to a character named Tommy (Pertwee). Tommy is the closest thing you get in the film resembling a gangster, a sort of hard-nut caricature with a jacket and a shaved head. He answers to Venning (Bean), a man who he is indebted to and whose debt will become more complicated when Billy interferes.
So the film all boils down to one massive heist at a retail shop named 'Alaska'. Before we get there, we get some blatant product placement as characters state all the benefits of owning a BMW; the fact that Budweiser is the 'king of beers' and Billy goes out of his way to emphasise Ellesse kettles. There are some daft scenes early on when a police chopper makes itself known alerting everyone to run away before the police arrive and other pursuing police cars seems to disappear when an ambush scene at some garages arrives. But you cannot fault the film for effort and a rather impressive opening scene sees Jo cast away the young woman clichés she should embody when she chucks cassette tapes of current pop music out the back of a stolen car she will not be a part of that culture, as we will learn; she's 'in' with the car obsessed Hell's Angels-type crowd.
While Shopping never falls below that level that makes it a genuinely bad film, it isn't anything spectacular. Whilst deeply flawed, it is interesting to see a low budget; low-key British film trying to shoot car chases and attempting to make some sort of crime saga. But the story is left wanting and the film revolves around absolutely nothing for most of the time. While this isn't a bad thing, it takes a skilled director to deliver that approach and while the intentions were there, director Anderson falls just short.