Shopping (1994) User Reviews

Hey Jude, Drive My Car

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 7 June 2009]

For kicks, young and beautiful Jude Law (as Billy) and disaffected tough Sadie Frost (as Jo) steal cars, drive them into stores, and trash the places. They call it "Shopping". A rivalry develops between the two joy-riders and smarmy Sean Pertwee (as Tommy), who is the best store thrasher in the English neighborhood. Director Paul Anderson's star displays only a fraction of his later acting success; surprisingly, most of the spark occurs between Ms. Frost and Mr. Pertwee. "Shopping" seems meant to be compared with "A Clockwork Orange" - a certain musical interlude drives that point home - but, neither Mr. Law nor the film approach Malcolm McDowell or Stanley Kubrick. Not that it doesn't have style, mind you. And, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Bean, and Marianne Faithful help make the trip. Anderson should have ended with Law being thrown from the car into a bloody display with the store mannequin; instead, he blinked...

***** Shopping (6/24/94) Paul W.S. Anderson ~ Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Sean Pertwee

Let's go $hopping!

[dee.reid · 6/10 · 21 September 2017]

1994's "Shopping" (stylized as "$hopping") is a movie that I first came across during the late-night cable hours as an impressionable 10- or 11-year-old growing up in the mid-1990s. Of course, due to the fact that I was such an impressionable young child growing up at that time, my parents were keen to keep me away from "Shopping," a film with a futuristic, industrial-heavy aesthetic that appeared to glamorize auto theft, ram-raiding and unsavory, Adrenalin-addicted thrill-seeking young car thieves. (And not so surprisingly, this helped the film to generate a controversy in the United Kingdom for supposedly glamorizing criminal, anti-social behavior.)

"Shopping" is mostly remembered for being a noteworthy early film credit for its two leads, as well as being the directorial debut of a then-29-year-old Brit named Paul Anderson (who now goes by "Paul W. S. Anderson" to avoid confusion with American filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson). Paul Anderson would later gain worldwide recognition just one year later for his American film debut, "Mortal Kombat" (1995), which is a film I love to death and to this day I still consider it to be the greatest film adaptation of a video game.

"Shopping" is a stylish, yet promising debut for Anderson, whose career has since been a wildly mixed bag of occasional high points (the aforementioned "Mortal Kombat," "Event Horizon," "Resident Evil") and several missteps ("Soldier," "AVP: Alien vs. Predator" and virtually every "Resident Evil" sequel he's directed, pretty much).

"Shopping," nonetheless, showcases what would later become Anderson trademarks: excellent set design and cinematography, fast-paced direction, and a wall-to-wall soundtrack with an industrial/techno vibe to it (Orbital's "Halycon + On + On," which is featured prominently in the film several times, appears to be a personal favorite of Anderson's, since the song was also played near the end of his later "Mortal Kombat"). "Shopping" is set sometime in the not-too-distant future in London, and centers around the so-called "sport" of "shopping" - stealing high-priced cars and then ramming them through department store windows, looting them, and then evading the police.

Billy (Jude Law) is probably the most notorious of these young, early 20-something ram-raiding punks. He, along with his casual would-be love interest, the video game-loving Jo (Sadie Frost, Law's future real-life wife), hit the streets (and stores) after he gets released from prison at the beginning of the film after doing three months for auto theft. Although it doesn't take long for Billy to fall back into old habits once released, his "shopping sprees" are becoming more and more ambitious, and reckless, as his targets become bigger and bigger. As the stakes rise and his notoriety grows, it catches the attention of his old rival Tommy (Sean Pertwee, an Anderson regular), for whom the sport of "shopping" is a business, since Tommy makes money selling off the goods he steals. For Billy, it's nothing more than an Adrenalin rush that he claims is better than any drug and is to a degree (for him, at least), an art-form. So it inevitably sets the two of them down a path toward a head-on collision.

"Shopping" is a stylish and ambitious debut feature from Paul Anderson that established many of his trademarks - most notably his love for industrial music, and this film revels in its striking industrial-futuristic ambiance - but also shows his weaknesses, namely weak characterization, spotty writing and story. His non-written directorial works ("Mortal Kombat," "Event Horizon," and even the hokey "Soldier") were better showcases for Anderon's strengths as a director because he didn't have screen-writing credits attached to these pictures, but instead worked because of his stylish, fast-paced direction. Here, Jude Law and Sadie Frost give stellar and enthusiastic performances in roles for which they were young and relatively unknown to American audiences (at the time), and have since become more widely known.

Watching "Shopping" for the first time since I was a child, it's an impressive debut from Paul W. S. Anderson, in spite of his flaws (of which there are many), and is something that can happen with any early effort from any director.

6/10.

I Say Old Boy It's The Brit Pack Innit Bruv For Real Tally Ho

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 4 July 2013]

This movie by Paul W Anderson hit a lot of controversy when it was released in 1994 with the usual right wing tabloids screaming that this film should be banned since it was encouraging a spate of ram raiding and joyriding . Certainly if you want to ban it on the grounds of quality control no one would miss it much , but as for encouraging anything it'd only encourage people not to go to the cinema to watch anymore films by Channel 4

The film starts with tough tearaway joyrider Billy played by Jude Law in his first starring role being released from his prison cell . Cut to Billy being led down a prison corridor by a couple of screws who put him in an interview room with veteran detective Conway played by Johnathan Pryce

" So Billy what has prison taught you ? "

A short pause and get that Oscar speech ready Mr Anderson

" Don't get caught " Anyone not expecting that far too obvious line ? I had hoped for a second Billy would have said something along the lines of " Since I look like Jude Law and I've been in a prison surrounded by tough lags I've learned my lesson Mr Conway . I now have a rectum like a windsock and can assure you I will cause no more trouble "

And that's the problem . The film is trying to sell a good looking , young British cast , the much hyped and quickly forgotten " Brit Pack " but seem absolutely unsuited to their characters as working class anti-heroes from the inner city . After being released from the big house Billy meets his Irish girlfriend Jo played by Sadie Frost . The strange thing is Ms Frost actually looks older here than she does in 2013 which gives the impression Billy has hooked up with some MILF

Anyway they decide to carjack a BMW car with a cunning plan of ramming it from behind then when the driver runs up to remonstrate with them they sneak in to the BMW and drive off in it . The problem is this is done on a urban stretch of road and there's no possible way they could have hid anywhere and the two cars are only a couple of yards apart . It's almost as if they can teleport . This sets up a car chase with the police as Billy and Jo taunt the police with " Oh gosh aren't we a couple of posh actors having a bit of a laugh playing a couple of naughty chavs what ? " That's a major failing of the film with only JonathanPryce's human portrayal of Conway and Sean Pertwee's stock villain Tommy being in any way convincing

That said seeing a bunch of young toffee nosed thespians straight out of stage school who'd totally brick it on a tough estate playing characters from da ghetto is genuinely amusing . Not so the rest of the film which has a bizarre structure in that if randomly chopped up the film and inserted the scenes in any haphazard manner you'd not notice any difference

Soundtrack, visuals redeeming features

[donkeyfur · 22 September 2004]

Having read all the other reviews on this site, I notice that most people either completely hate the film or completely love it. I take the middle ground. I greatly enjoyed the visual elements, both with regard to the good-looking leads and the stylish camera work. I enjoy a film where I can pick out performers from other films and this one offered a few. I recognized Jason Isaacs (Captain Hook in the recent "Peter Pan" film), for one. That being said I was disappointed that Sean Bean's part was so small. However, I was glad Marianne Faithful's role was only a small cameo. It is painful to me to see her looking so haggard.

I also enjoyed the pulsating soundtrack and believe that, with an inferior effort, the film would be even less appealing.

As others have pointed out, there's not much of a plot, but, beyond that, it was difficult to sympathize with the characters -- other than the police! The law officers in this film were not portrayed as sadistic or even unlikable. Frustrated, yes. The "protagonists" had no redeeming characteristics other than youth, good looks and energy. The film seems to present the viewpoint that the police deserved the treatment they received from the thugs. To me, the film produces a nihilistic, 'who gives a damn' about anything attitude. It made me think about anarchy: after "the system" is demolished, with what will it be replaced?

I'm probably waxing too philosophical about a movie that never even aspired to such musings. The producers probably just wanted to give a youthful audience the smash 'em up, 'wham bam thank you ma'am' form of entertainment many seem to want. (Witness "The Fast and the Furious" and Vin Diesel's "XXX" among others.) I like a bit of action, too, but I prefer to care about someone or something along the line.

Nevertheless, I maintain that I have seen worse films. I confess to an admiration of British films and actors that causes me to overlook aspects of a movie that I don't like in order to focus on what I consider to be redeeming features. For example, I found Sean Pertwee's character in this film interesting, even if the character is what we Americans like to call a "scumbag". The bottom line, to me, is that the positives -- including the soundtrack, visual elements, and interesting cast -- outweigh the negatives. I bought the film at what you British call a jumble sale for $2.00 (American money), so I'm not out a lot of loot in any case. I will keep the film alongside "Love, Honour and Obey", another second-hand bargain I found along the way. It too, has redeeming features.

Posh kids trying to be hard

[anthonyccarr · 2/10 · 2 March 2005]

The plot: Jude and Sadie form half of an underworld gang who get their kicks, and their living, from the adrenalin fuelled lifestyle choice that once was ram-raiding. Facing the dual enemies of what seems to be the entire London police force, and a rival gang (cue a cockney Sean Bean) led by Sean Pertwee (with an admirable attempt to rescue the film with a Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Carribbean performance) – Jude and Sadie go from ram raid to ram raid with an incredible inability to appeal to the viewer. The film is littered with wannabe-weighty one liners which fail to rouse anything other than a sigh.

Post Mortem: An awful attempt to make an edge-of-society, dark moody film. The casting is shocking – both Jude and Sadie are far too posh for the criminal underworld characters. Sadie's accent is eventually recognisable as a strain of Irish, sounding slightly like Jerry Adams on helium. This film wants to be an urban Mad Max and ends up looking like what it is – a posh cast trying to play scum and looking embarrassingly out of their depth.

Great movie, bad script

[TechnoTom · 7/10 · 21 January 2010]

Shopping is set in a shabby, dark, crumbling post-industrial UK city in the early 90s. Blast furnaces and abandoned factories line the roads, battered old Ford Escorts, Sierras, Capris and early 90s BMWs are everywhere. The plot centres around a grim inner city estate of dilapidated tower blocks and deals with the aspirations of some of its residents.

Jude Law plays self-destructive Billy McKenzie, a 19 year old nihilistic man who despises his society and hates his life. His older girlfriend Jo (played by Sadie Frost) is tired of the scene Billy is involved with, car theft, joy riding and ram raiding, but cannot drag him out of it. Sean Pertwee gives a good performance as another petty criminal Tommy, whose interests have grown to include shifting stolen goods, drugs, organised crime and generally more aspirational ideals.

After being released from his first three-month tenure in prison, Billy immediately seeks out his old mates and gets back into his old ways. Tommy initially tries to make an ally of him with stories of organisation and easy money, but Billy is only interested in getting respect from the estate and destruction and adrenaline and soon makes himself an enemy of Tommy and his crew, with ultimately tragic consequences.

Whilst the screenplay and direction are excellent, the film is totally let down by its script. Many of the character's exclamations and reposes are less than natural, some are downright baffling and some leave you cringing in your seat. It's not consistently bad, there are also genuinely heart wrenching moments and some excellent quotes, but you will also find yourself burying your head in your hands at other points and thinking "nobody says that!". Billy's two mostly annoying mates are stereotypes of stereotypes and there's also some representations of dark and dingy illegal "raves" that are... well, preposterous.

But when all's said and done, despite the cheesy moments in the script, it's a good movie. The story, all the action aside, is really about Billy's seething self-hate and unwillingness to love and be loved. The cars, the ram-raiding, the police, Tommy, the estate... it's all just a backdrop to the story of the slow and tragic destruction of an depressed young man caught in a world he has learned only to hate.

Such a pointless movie to watch.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 5/10 · 17 June 2011]

This movie is really lacking a point. What kind of story were they trying to tell? Was there even a purpose or message to this all?

Paul W.S. Anderson always has sort of been the king of mediocre movies. I have yet to see a Paul W.S. Anderson movie that is above the level of average. Not that his movies are horrible either, some of them are quite enjoyable but they just fail to make an impact in any way.

All that this story is about are a bunch of rebellious teens being lazy and act as if the police are the biggest scum and villains on the Earth, while they are the ones breaking about ever law and causing mayhem, by stealing and wrecking stuff. It could had been a good or at least interesting story if it tried to make a statement about anything but the movie never does. At least I didn't get anything out of the story at all.

It also doesn't exactly make any of the characters likable or compelling ones to watch and follow throughout this movie, despite that they are being played by some big name actors. Not that they were being big at the time yet. The movie features a still very young Jude Law and Sadie Frost and a supporting cast that among other consist out of Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce and Jason Isaacs. Most of the characters however also make a pretty redundant impression. It tries to be a simple movie with a simple story but yet in throws in all these many pointless characters.

It's not the worst movie you'll ever see but it's such a pointless and redundant movie to watch that there is no reason why you really should ever watch it in the first place.

5/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Transit van to a car chase.....

[FlashCallahan · 7/10 · 28 October 2012]

Billy and Jo get their kicks from their special type of window shopping.

These professional criminals are not in it for the money, but for the fun of it. When Billy gets released from prison, his rival Tommy has taken over the street.

A fight for power commences as Billy starts his own gang and hits a shop the day before Tommy had planned to. Tommy makes a move on Billy's girlfriend Jo, who wants Billy to change his lifestyle and move away, instead of fighting Tommy, a fight which will hurt them both.

He agrees, but he wants to hit the shopping mall on a final hit. That has never been done before, so it will make him a hero among the others.....

It's Andersons first movie, Laws first big screen lead, and to be fair it's really good, even though it's full of flaws and awful dialogue.

It can be viewed in two,different ways. On one hand its a very dated 90s urban drama. On the other hand, you can see it as a futuristic urban punk style movie, thanks to the soundtrack and the opening.

Pryce gives the film a little gravitas, but he looks mightily bored, and Pertwee hams it up as the main villain. Law is good, as is Frost, but it's clear she wasn't employed for her acting skills.

Round the film off with cameos from Bean and Jason Issacs (hello), shopping is one of those rare hard to find Movies that has garnered a cult following.

Which means that most hate the film, but the view whole me it, can't explain why.

Very bad movie

[vivatexas · 1/10 · 4 June 2008]

The problem of making movies directly from recent news it that these movies become dated very soon. Shopping is one of this movies, and trying to be "actual" to the nineties makes that the characters now are seen as a caricatures. They look like a bunch of whiny kids trying to be bad. Anyway, It was a good try. Not as bad as Trainspotting but in the same line. When some directors try to make "social" cinema the results can be annoying or amusing, and in this case is more amusing than annoying.

Watch the movie, but don't take it seriously. I give it an one, just for comedy purposes.

there's basically a civil war going on in England

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 9 September 2006]

We didn't really know what "Shopping" was about when we rented it, but we were shocked, seeing how there's no respect for property. But given the status quo in the UK (or in this country), what can you expect? I do wish to assert that Jude Law is slightly more interesting in a role like this, than just trying to be a handsome young man. But this movie is not about star power; it's about showing the grim state of affairs in working-class England. If the movie has any problem, it's that sometimes, it seems to be trying too hard to evoke a feeling of young rebellion. Mostly I liked it. Also starring Sadie Frost and Jonathan Pryce.

One redeeming quality - the soundtrack.

[mowhay · 1/10 · 15 April 2001]

I don't often find a moment to pass comment on films, but in the case of Shopping, I have to make an exception. This sort of film making is doing its best to keep Britain well and truly in the minor league of cinema. Shopping is so far wide of the mark in terms of any youth culture ever to have existed, the acting is average and the plot dull. Having first seen and hated the film during its original cinema release, I recently watched it again on a UK digital film channel to see if my opinion was still the same. It hasn't changed. Jude Law is a fine actor but seems to enjoy picking a few bad films from time to time. Sean Pertwee's choice of role is consistently poor - he and Shopping go hand in hand. That's not to say I think Mr.Pertwee is a poor actor, but I cannot think of many films I've seen him in that has been worth watching: I.D., Event Horizon, Blue Juice - I rest my case. The film does have one singular redeeming quality, the title track by Sabres of Paradise is superb. I suggest you buy the soundtrack and skip the film.

One of the best movies I've seen.

[aj-62 · 10/10 · 25 July 2001]

Shopping takes a look at a subculture unknown outside of the UK. It was banned in the UK, presumably because it might encourage the practice of ram-raiding. It is a very insightful film about a young man's search for his identity; whether he will continue on a potentially self destructive path and prove himself by ram-raiding, or whether he will brave a different life in a different city with his girlfriend.

The acting and cast are first-rate, and if you enjoy movies with depth and real character development, make sure you check it out.

Ordinary and flawed crime film that fumbles towards its conclusion before giving us what we expect.

[johnnyboyz · 6/10 · 30 September 2008]

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.

A naughty boy and girl cause some bother

[Mark-InTheUK · 3/10 · 4 January 2013]

Jude Law and Sadie Frost pretend (I don't like to use the word act for such dreadful performances) to be a naughty boy and girl. Frost throws in a faux Irish accent, because being Irish surely makes you sound harder. However, the accent is bad throughout: she ranges from Belfast to Limerick to Essex. By stealing cars and using lots of bad language, the pair go on an adventure to tease the police and raid some shops. At one point Sadie licks the face of a mannequin and hints at something more genuine; however the next police pursuing a car scene leading the police into an urban ambush is back to unintended satire. It is almost a mockumentary on the famous four comic strip style by trying to look so over the top to go beyond the ridiculous. Sean Pertwee is a laughable oik from his first presence, sat on the banisters watching the low lifes play in his criminal arcade emporium (seriously, he was playing a rogue who ran a games shop for teenagers – but being in a disused run down place was supposed to make it a bit gritty). Slapping a car roof to show his annoyance at the naughty children (Frost and Law) getting into bother with the busies is about the level of such a misguided film; although he gets into even more of a bad temper when he hits a pipe against other pipes half way through the 'movie'. Some reviewers says this has dated too early. I would suggest it hasn't dated at all; awful on release, awful almost 20 years later.

You Don't Turn Down The Chance to S**g Sadie Frost!

[Leeandkate · 22 February 2000]

This film just plain doesn't work. The protagonists are a bunch of losers - just out for thrills, like joyriders are meant to be, yes - but it attempts to glamourise and politicise them - to give them deeper motives - in a way that completely fails to come across.

Meanwhile, you have the Sean Pertwee character, who's meant to be a sell-out, who is violating the spirit of the life they lead by going 'legit' and forming associations with true organised crime. But instead, next to this bunch of anarchistic, narcissistic overgrown children, he appears to be the only responsible, sympathetic, adult character. Meanwhile, Jonathan Pryce's paternal policeman is completely ineffective in what is meant to be the true adult presence of the film.

There's one scene which epitomises the failings of the film - Billy's rebuff of Jo's attempted seduction by saying sex is too dangerous in the 90's. Never mind that he'd already attempted to chat up a stranger in a club! It reinforces one's perception of him as a big kid unwilling to grow up. . . Characters' actions have to be believable, and his aren't. No wonder one TV version I saw cut the scene short, it's almost embarrassing to watch. Hence the title I've chosen for this review!

Shabby

[frankwhat · 4/10 · 19 September 2004]

I know this Paul Anderson's first real film but I didn't like it. It was a little below par in plot and dialog. I thought the action scenes were rather slow for a self-proclaimed 'fast-pace' movie and that the lines spoken were kind of corny to say the least. Sadie Frost isn't that good looking either, I really wonder why Jude Law married her as he could probably get any girl he wanted to. After all is said and done this was alright considering it was semi-low-budget but it's still not one that's worth a second look. I did receive gratification in recognizing a few familiar faces from back when they weren't so famous especially Eamonn Walker who's notorious for playing Kareem Said on HBO's show "OZ". Despite all this I was still unimpressed though.

Final Whipping:

Movies: Not here, not now!

DVD Purchase: Only if you have no better way to spend paper currency.

Rental: It's probably one of those films you want to see just so you can say that you saw it and get credit for doing so.

Good, but wasted potential.

[bombersflyup · 7/10 · 10 October 2018]

Shopping is an enjoyable film, but also somewhat empty and underwhelming.

The premise fine, but you'd think you might take some money or take some stuff to sell, to stay in hotels or something instead of a train car. Billy's actions don't make a lot of sense in regards to Jo, purposely pissing off Tommy's going to put her in danger. Though the film isn't daring enough, as Tommy never actually hurts anyone. They're in these slums, mocking the law and yet no-one's hurt. They just talk it out or let them go, seems unlikely living in a rebel state. I love Sadie Frost, why was she not in everything? She sounds like the singer of "The Cranberries." So Jude Law marries her and probably caused her previous divorce, but his character isn't interested in her here, okay. Sean Bean with a strong performance in a minor role, thought it would be his debut or something, but no he had done plenty. The ending of the film's a bit of a letdown, as it should of been completely manic.

I know my rights. I watch L.A.Law.

[lastliberal · 5/10 · 3 July 2007]

Paul W. S. Anderson (Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse) has written and directed a film about ram-raiding. What's ram-raiding, you say? Well, I said the same thing. I always thought it was old folks just not knowing the diff between the gas and the brakes and running into shop windows. Apparently, there is a subculture that uses cars to break into stores ans steal.

That's what the film is about. Doesn't that interest you? Jude Law (Cold Mountain, The Talented Mr. Ripley) and Sadie Frost (nothing I've seen) are lovers that are competing with a rival - Sean Pertwee (nothing here either) for dominance of the yahoos that steal for a living. Ho hum.

Jonathan Pryce (Governor Weatherby) has a minor role, but certainly the best one.

Skip it.

Impressive debut

[KaZenPhi · 6/10 · 18 January 2022]

Paul W. S. Anderson is an enigma to me. When you listen to him talk about films or games he comes off as quite knowledgeable, curious and self-reflective, yet he's made nothing but terrible schlock throughout the entirety of his career. Sometimes he makes an accidentally good film like Event Horizon or Alien vs Predator but the limits of his imagination and skill are painfully apparent even in the best of his work, and borderline cringeworthy in his worst, see M for Mortal Kombat or Monster Hunter.

Shopping was his debut film, which while receiving mixed reviews became somewhat of a cult hit in the UK upon release and helped usher in a new wave of british cinema. In hindsight, without the success of Shopping we might not have gotten the careers of Danny Boyle or Guy Ritchie (ok , that sounds like a mixed blessing).

Wait, what? Paul W. S. Anderson is british?!

The strangest epiphany other than the fact he can direct when he wants to, is that he's actually british, which was so surprising to me since none of his usual films have the humour, inventiveness or bite you get from the other british filmmakers of this era. Shopping is this fascinating anomaly in his career, a visually inventive cool little indie action film, inhabited by some of the greatest accents of the island, driven forward by a temporary electronica soundtrack. The cast includes an array of later Anderson regulars in a rare display of their native lingo, several well-known brits of the time in small parts and the feature film debut of Jude Law who shockingly is the worst actor in the film. I genuinely like him, but at this point he had so much left to learn it's not even funny.

The scenery is one of the stars, making use of a couple of famous London brutalist landmarks, a style of architecture which had already lent Clockwork Orange it's slightly futuristic dystopian touch. While the low budget is apparent, Anderson is smart enough to shoot around it, so it never becomes a distraction.

The story isn't the movie's strongest suit ultimately running a bit too long. Maybe a more well-versed lead might have carried it better, but a lot of time is spent on plotlines that could have been dealt with much quicker and more elegantly. This isn't a high concept thriller. It's a rather simple fictional portray of a disenchanted youth culture always in search of more extreme thrills which leads to crime, carnage and casualties. An entire clique of rebels without a cause. The movie does tap a little bit into contemporary british subcultures which makes it an interesting watch as a time capsule of the mid-nineties. What lay buried in the shadow of britpop.

It's not necessarily a great film by any means, it has these moments of imitation and lack of experience that hold down most debut films, but it shows Paul W. S. Anderson once briefly had his finger on the pulse of the times instead of desperately chasing after it, and it's a riveting look into an alternate timeline where instead of moving to Hollywood, he decided to hone his craft at home, polish his skills and vision and emerge a unique filmmaker with his own style instead of the unoriginal repetitive junk he's been cluttering up theatres with for the last 27 years.

Bargain bin material

[TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews · 5/10 · 11 December 2021]

Billy(Jude Law, managing to add a second and even third dimension to the character, on occasion) has just been released from prison, and he immediately jacks a car and takes it ram-raiding(driving through shop display windows, and then stealing some of the goods). He's joined by Jo(Sadie Frost, who plays video games during car chases). They've given up getting a regular life. Because why bother?

I doubt very many people still think about this movie. So I'll start by saying why I'm even bothering reviewing it. I remain fascinated by the work of Paul W. S. Anderson. "The Sight" is now the only thing that he has written and/or directed that I haven't watched yet. If you adjust your expectations, everything he's made is watchable, but, outside of brief, inspired segments, never more than that. The fact that people continue to watch, on purpose... I suppose it's possible that, for most people, it's just that, like me, they find it difficult to look away. We want to see what bad idea he's going to embrace next. I don't think he's beyond learning from his mistakes, though I do feel he tends to pick up at least two bad habits to every good one.

I really appreciate that clearly this has empathy for the troubled youth it depicts. So many of these stories embrace the concept of "scared straight". Too few of them try to empathize, to listen. There are a lot of displays of excellent cinematography and editing. Clearly, there was a vision for this. The fact that it's patched together from A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner and Brazil doesn't have to be a problem. No, the reason that it is, is a lack of understanding of why those films made those decisions. This has significantly less to say than those do.

This features a lot of property damage(honestly it gets quite tedious to look at), strong language, a little tense and disturbing violence, and brief sexuality. I recommend it only to people who identify with the leads, or who wanna see the earliest work of the guy who made the first Mortal Kombat flick. 5/10.

Shopping

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 23 June 2010]

It's amazing that Paul WS Anderson, out of all those big budget Hollywood sci-fi action junk, his best film could be this much smaller scale, rather fascinating tale of London suffering from youth crime gone amok, with Brit street punks, aimless and violence-prone, many either hooked on, or selling, drugs, destroying cop cars(and the police themselves), driving stolen vehicles through store windows, pelting the police with whatever they can get their hands on. It's absolute anarchy, and we see that the 90's punk culture has served not the most model citizens of society, as they seem to have no career goals, no future, living a life of crime either for kicks or underground business. Billy(Jude Law)has just been released from yet another stint in prison, rejoining his gal pal, Jo(Sadie Frost), as they steal cars and cause general mischief. Billy's "nemesis" is Tommy(Sean Pertwee), someone who has made a little street "enterprize" for himself using footsoldiers to rob stores for merchandise to sell on his "black market". Tommy doesn't like Billy's gung-ho, "adrenaline junkie" ways and warns Jo she should abandon him before he leads her into trouble. Billy likes to live recklessly, on the wild side, and has gained quite a reputation for doing so, a sort of hero to the punks on the streets. Tommy, however, considers himself quite a businessman, peddling his goods at much cheaper prices for those with the money to pay him(his customers normally wish to pay less than he demands, but they know his goods is of a legitimate quality), and sees Billy as a threat to everything he holds dear. There's an inevitable confrontation, but Billy underestimates his rival, with severe consequences. A mall is both men's desired target, and there's an ace up Tommy's sleeve which might just cost Billy dearly. Jo is in love with Billy and has went out of her way to reveal this to him, pleading with him to leave London and run away with her..but, Billy is a stubborn young man who has a problem with Tommy's "takeover" of "his city". I think Anderson effectively shows a London in ruin, with tired, exhausted police(under the command of Jonathan Pryce's saddened, weary Conway)unable to control the youth revolt. We see streets as if war had broken out, with filth and poverty very alive, along with graffiti walls, damaged cars, and trash in abundance. The overwhelming populace of self-destructive, unruly, and unyielding young criminals, with seemingly nothing else to live for but raising hell, are presented in a surprisingly non judgmental way, although, I never felt Anderson was condoning their behavior..I think he was merely showing us a lifestyle outside the norm, following a lost generation fallen under the cracks(..and, we can see that there were a lot of them, too). We can see that Billy's need for kicks and thrills are bound to lead down a path of destruction, and the ultimate crime is that he'll take Jo with him since she's just too in love to get away while the going was good.

Boring, unwatchable trash

[Groverdox · 4/10 · 21 August 2019]

"Shopping" feels like a long, low-budget music video. It fails to tell any kind of story, and none of the characters register at all, despite the presence of luminaries such as Johnathan Pryce, Sean Bean, Sean Pertwee and Jude Law in his first film role.

I got that the movie was about young people who steal cars so that they can drive them into shop windows and steal whatever they can get their hands on. We don't see too much of that in the movie, though.

There are scenes that would introduce characters in a better movie, but here just kill time. And the movie is so washed out looking it's almost black and white, hence the music video comparison. But in a music video, you would only have to look at the lack of colour on screen for a few minutes. Here it's feature-film length.

Indeed, this was also the first movie of one Paul WS Anderson, the guy behind all those "Resident Evil" movies nobody watches. I think he was a music video director before he became known for feature films. He should have stayed one.

The chavs of today could learn from Billy's style.

[sub_mish · 8/10 · 23 January 2010]

Brilliant if slightly flawed - one for the gutter kids of the 90s.

I didn't think I'd like this film after all these years. Boy was I wrong! Billy is actually much more sympathetic than his role suggests, compared to the criminals of today anyway. He's a loser adrenalin junkie, true, but there's something pure, almost artistic about his love of the chase and addiction to capturing and destroying high powered automobiles.

He doesn't attack people and he isn't in it to make money - he just loves shopping! By which I mean ram-raiding high class shopping malls and stealing odd bits of crap. Billy isn't antisocial, he loves his father (who has given up on him) and has a great platonic love for his girl, whom he doesn't shag but prefers to stay best friends with. All in all, a very sympathetic character that just couldn't exist today. Bit silly, but then I think you had to be around in the 90s to really appreciate what this film's about - there was that time when nobody had any money and car thieves had the edge on the cops, and all their crimes only involved cars and shops anyway, and who cares about some stupid machine? It reminds me a lot of "Crash" - the JG Ballard novel and the late-nineties film - in that it has that Ballardian acknowlegement that we all secretly want the bomb to drop, we want the bad guy to win, and that's what's so great about Shopping. Considering that he's a posh kid Jude Law's performance is stellar.

So if you like the 80s and 90s, like the "industrial" asthetic, love to see cars destroyed, hate (or have hated) authority, watch this film. It's the cools.

younger jude law

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 19 May 2022]

Just out of prison, billy (j. Law, five years before mr. Ripley) and jo (frost, who is a couple years older) are up to no good, stealing cars, and causing general mayhem around the rough parts of london. Driving cars into store fronts to steal the merchandise. And, according to billy, mostly out of boredom. Jon pryce (tomorrow never dies) is in here as the copper. He's watching billy and the other guys, as they funnel the hot items upwards to the black market guys. A silly, nonsense scene when the chopper overhead announces that the police are on their way. Stay where you are.... pretty unlikely. That gave all the thugs a lovely bit of time to get away. Which they did! Serious swearing, in this one. It's a good snapshot of the gritty life in london, in the rough 1990s, when there were no jobs. No big surprises in this one, but it's not bad. Kind of surprised at the low rating. Written and directed by paul anderson. Law and frost met on this film, and married three years after it was released.

Don't. Just don't.

[seanhmoss6 · 2/10 · 6 July 2022]

Great actors make bad movies, especially early in their careers. It's the business. This is such a case. 45 minutes in, you know less than you did 5 minutes in. There is no story, no script and no hope for your future for the next hour. It's like an after school special that makes you ignore teen pitfalls like drugs or crime and makes you worry about your child becoming an actor.