Maybe it’s a cultural thing or perhaps it’s generational, but I never got why a movie like Shopping has somewhat of a cult following. Sure, for Jude Law’s first major role, I thought he acquitted himself just fine and the female lead with Sadie Frost was pretty good as well, but the story it a mess and the characters all around aren’t very likeable.
Shopping (1994)
Genre(s): Crime, Drama
MPI Media Group | NR – 105 min. – $24.98 | February 1, 2011
MOVIE INFO:
Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson
Writer(s): Paul W.S. Anderson (written by)
Cast: Sadie Frost, Jude Law, Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce
Theatrical Release Date: February 9, 1996
DISC INFO:
Features: Commentary, Featurettes, Theatrical Trailer
Number of Discs: 1
Audio: English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
Video: 1080p/Widescreen 1.78
Subtitles: English SDH
THE MOVIE – 1.5/5
Paul W.S. Anderson – or simply Paul Anderson as he’s credited here – directed a 1994 UK grunge crime flick entitled Shopping starring Sadie Frost (Dracula) as Jo and Jude Law (Sherlock Holmes) in his leading man debut as Billy, two hard-ass criminals who wreck havoc for no other reason than they apparently have nothing better to do. The movie’s title comes from a specific type of crime where thieves would ram a car into a store window, run inside and steal some crap just for the hell of it. Typically, this group of criminals often butt heads with the normal/boring kind and in this movie it is headed by street thug Tommy (SEAN PERTWEE) who makes his living stealing and selling it on the street.
The movie begins when Billy is released after a stint in prison and despite a warning from police detective Conway (JONATHAN PRYCE) to stay out of trouble, Billy basically informs him he’s going to keep doing what he does. His release pleases Jo who picks him up in a crappy car which they quickly upgrade after carjacking a lovely sports car. The duo run from the police and actually manages to escape which leads me to believe either Billy is a brilliant wheel man or that the police are inept. Having watched enough “COPS” and “Most Shocking”, it has to be the former…
So after hot-trotting around an unnamed dark, damp, near-futuristic city, the two plan their next crimes and about general life while we see that Billy doesn’t have much of one living by the river in a POS trailer because his father wants nothing more to do with him, although he’ll gladly take packets of cigarettes Billy drops through the mail slot. Billy’s return to the streets where he’s considered the best does not please Tommy and while Jo pleads with Billy to just leave it alone, Billy has the desire and addiction to be the best because that’s all he has.
You can kind of guess the rest as the two duke it out and we come to an action-packed finale which was supposed to be something amazing but I for one was cheering that the damn movie was over at that point.
Maybe it’s a generational thing not embracing the 1990s grunge/screw society era or because it’s a British thing, but I almost despise Shopping. The problem I have is 1) it’s pretty damn boring, 2) has characters on all sides you don’t or can’t care about and 3) the story felt disjointed to the point where you wonder why I should care to even finish the film… by the halfway point.
Now, the key word before was “almost” and that’s because of two things. The first is the acting by Sadie Frost and Jude Law aren’t half bad and if not for a lousy and lame script, might’ve been more memorable and the second is Paul W.S. Anderson’s (and cinematographer Tony Imi) visual style is great presenting the dark and dank world… a world in which I wish I could just drown myself in. Seriously though, it is a nice looking movie but it’s all bogged down by characters and a plot that aren’t very interesting.
Shopping is a dumb movie in which you have characters you utterly hate all around and a story that is all around boring that by the time you do get to the thrilling conclusion, you can only cheer that the thing was over and you can move on with your life. I can’t say I quite hated this film but it is close to the bottom of my all-time list.
SPECIAL FEATURES – 2/5
Audio Commentary – Writer/Director Anderson and Producer Jeremy Bolt provide an insightful and to-the-point commentary track providing details on the various shots used and where the idea – and style – came from.
Shallow Grave: The Burying of Shopping (24:22) – This new featurette, at least it looks new, has writer/director Anderson and producer Bolt talking about, British movies, the film itself and what led them down the path to making it.
EPK Featurette (7:06; SD) – This is your basic Q&A interviews done to promote the film.
And we also get the trailer (1:40; SD).
VIDEO – 2.25/5
Shopping comes to Blu-ray with a 1.78 widescreen aspect ratio and 1080p high-definition. As one might assume, given that the movie was low budget, it’s not a pretty looking picture. The film isn’t very detailed at times a bit blurry, it’s littered with heavy amounts of noise and I did notice a few occasions of dust marks.
AUDIO – 2/5
Similarly, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track isn’t anything to boast about either. Dialogue often times was very flat, the sound effects during the different car chase scenes also lacked depth while the LFE channel barely, if ever, was used. There’s also the original Dolby 2.0 stereo track available if you like.
OVERALL – 1.75/5
Overall, maybe it’s a cultural thing or perhaps it’s generational, but I never got why a movie like Shopping has somewhat of a cult following. Sure, for Jude Law’s first major role, I thought he acquitted himself just fine and the female lead with Sadie Frost was pretty good as well, but the story it a mess and the characters all around aren’t very likeable. Outside of the performances from Law and Frost, the only other positive I can come up with is the fact it is a good looking picture (not talking about the Blu-ray transfer mind you) showcasing the talent that Paul W.S. Anderson has, unfortunately he can’t seem to tell a coherent and/or interesting story.
Brian Oliver, The Movieman
Published: 02/17/2011