Offender
Offender
| 08 August 2012 (USA)
Offender Trailers

Justice needs to be served at Britain's most notorious young offenders institute.

Reviews
Theo Robertson

The pregnant girlfriend of Tommy Nix is assaulted causing her to miscarry . Tommy assaults a couple of police officers so he can be jailed in order to carry out his revenge on the men who committed the crime against his girlfriend A simple revenge plot and perhaps mindful of this director Ron Scalpello goes out of his way to make sure the audience don't get bored by a simple tale of revenge . Massive big mistake because Scalpello almost undermines the movie with his " hey look at me " directorial flourishes that makes a MTV ident look like a static painting in comparison . The more you might be reminded of Alan Clarke's gritty realist cinema borstal drama SCUM the more Ronnie boy tries to distract you I've no idea of Mr Scalpello's background but he's obviously influenced by adverts and music videos and never resists the temptation to have a blasting soundtrack with moody stylistic sharply edited visuals . You don't like drum and bass bruv ? Don't worry because in a few minutes we'll get a long montage with some indie guitar sounds . You want romance ? Good because we'll have a smoochy song for a flashback . You want the film to just get on with telling a story ? You're being a little bit optimistic for real bruv innitThis is something of a pity because Scalpello does manage to develop Paul Van Carter's screenplay intermittently but perhaps not often enough . I was very impressed with Joe Cole who very often doesn't get to say much but does manage to give an angst ridden performance and I look forward to seeing this young actor in more suitable material . Of the other performances the stand out is English Frank ( Not I take it his birth name ) as Jake the prison daddy . Yeah okay it a in your face OTT performance that possibly has no basis in reality but it is memorable and is in keeping with the entire style of the movie OFFENDER ends up being a very curious film where less might have been more . It can never be accused of being boring or having a sluggish pace but it's a film that can't be taken seriously either . In other words it's disposable entertainment

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maj_kill

This is a great film. It shows people how life is spent at prison, and it also shows how the system works. English Frank played a great role alongside Scorcher. They both showed rivalry. Mic Righteous also seemed to be in this film, he has great future ahead of him, Mic Righteous's appearance was very good for him, because its easy for people to recognise who is his. This film is fantastic and i hope similar films release. I hope people recognise this film. This film doesn't only deserve awards, it also deserves more people viewing it. it is mainly because of viewers films get noticed. I humbly request viewers to watch this film. Remember it might be because of you thing might change for the people that are being discriminated. I am happy to right such a review on this film. I hope this film gets bigger and bigger. Majid Rahman Twitter: Majid_killa

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soapdodgerz

what a pile this film is.the comparisons to scum are meaningless, this is not in the same league.the beginning should sum this film up, a young lad beats up two riot cops with ease, then only gets two years,rubbish during the uk 2011 riots the sentencing was much harsher for far less.then we are taken on a journey to see why he did it.don't bother ,its a waste of time.i used to love these sort of dramas a sense of freedom ,made in Britain scum etc, they where not perfect, but had some sense of reality. are the writers of this garbage living on a different planet? sadly i think they are.making this type of film to appeal to the youth is a cynical marketing ploy. yeah there are lots of angry young men out there. but to tackle this complex social problem in such a one dimensional way is crass and insulting to viewers.

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January39

For those old enough this is kind of a Scum remake (just not quite as good), our lead loses his girlfriend after she miscarries their baby and he wants revenge on the criminals who (possibly) caused it... How does he do that? Gets banged up so he can beat them up.Our lead is then banged up and so begins his quest to avenge his girlfriend, tackling the bad guys one by one without them knowing who or what is doing. Thrown in the bent guard who enjoys partying with the bad guys and you get the picture. It's him against the world. His story is told through a series of flashback and dreams and other than that you never really get to know him... Yes, it sounds dodgy but give it time and it is actually quite good, the lead plays the part well - you can never really work him out as to whether he is a crazy or just really angry and on the edge. The supporting cast are a little weaker, not bad just weaker.There are also scenes where truth and realism take a back seat - like the 2 ZX10 bikes they have, how did they obtain 2 bikes in the same colour in the same place at the same time during the riots all with matching helmets!? - and better yet they can ride them like demons! Then after the attack on the shop they nick another car (BMW this time) and drive to the shop for reasons we never find out, only to encounter the police investigating the crime - really, what a surprise!!! Would any aspiring criminal (been doing since he been Sh**ting rusks, apparently) do that? I doubt it. I could not help feeling that the burglary got shoehorned in at the last minute to beef up the menace of the gangsters...Overlook these small flaws and give it a chance and it's a pretty good film. I doubt it will win awards or Oscars and we probably will never consider it a classic BUT it does draw you in, you do care about the lead and if we rated films on how believable they are (aside the small errors) then this film would do better than most blockbusters.6/10 for me, only just though...To sum up, give it a chance and you might be surprised!! I have a feeling we might be seeing more of the lead in the future.

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