A refreshing UK offering that strikes a great balance between urban crime story and social comment tinged with just the right amount of comic relief. Terrific characters brought to life by a great cast. Slow at first but the tension that is created is well worth it - you are drawn down the often dark journey with hints of light allowed to shine. You just never know when and how. The sensational acting does not let the script down. One hopes that this first film of Greg Loftin will pave the way for new investment so that his next film does not have to be on such a shoe string budget. Not that it suffered from a low budget - the script and acting make up for it completely.

Greg loftin has written and directed and produced (Phew!!) his first feature Saxon and it got its first showing at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh at the International Film Festival...and what a successful & impressive (micro budget also) debut it is! (Aug 24th) The movie centres around Eddie (a brilliant Sean Harris) who is in search of a missing mate after leaving prison - he is hired by the mate's wife to find him and also he must pay off a bunch of nasty fishmongers before he loses his eye as payment. (the other has already been removed by the fishmongers) There are also nods to British cult classics like Clockwork Orange and the kitchen sink dramas of the 60s when the scenes are intimate between Harris and his female co-stars (This Sporting Life comes to mind)...I think this film has a certain cult potential but will not be to everyone's taste - some scenes are very strong and the story demands attention and respect.The film starts at a fast pace but then changes pace - and at every turn there is a new twist - so we have a violent opening (but thank God this does not turn into another Gangster flick) followed by a nice scene between Linda (Sarah Matarves) and Eddie and then we are introduced with Tongue Firmly in cheek to "The Bailiffs". The pace changes work and the main performances are solid.The colours of the film are beautifully shot and stand out - esp the grim housing estate (Saxon it's called - hence the name) and the music is a nice original accompaniment to the scenes.Many of the characters are introduced at random at first - from the Lighterlady, Russell (an excellent Drew Edwards) and a mad fishmonger chasing Eddie (a scary Stephen Manwaring), an insane tramp and we are left slightly bemused as to what these various characters are up to (we find out) but as i engaged with the story, it all came together right at the end with a twisted yet funny sense of logic. The characters are brilliantly quirky and this film does not take itself too seriously and has a very British feeling about it...It's almost insane...Saxon was a refreshing change to watch at the cinema and a breath of fresh air! Hope it makes it nationwide.the Film Nut (Edinburgh 2007)

I think after watching Saxon, you will either love this film or hate it...of course I loved it...why?? It's freshness and originality (and it's damn right madness at times!) will grab other parts that the norm cannot reach.It is so good to see British talent making an effort to create a piece of 'art' (which i believe this film will become) and show the film biz and the UK TV biz that they should be backing artistic talent and not the dross that is Big Brother or cooking shows. I make this point because it is so sad that the Director and Producer had to re-mortgage their house to make this film - a sad reflection upon the 'men in suits' methinks! The film follows 'fast eddie' returning to Saxon (a grim housing estate) (Sean Harris on excellent form) - just out of prison and on a journey of redemption and trying to make some quick cash of which he owes to a local fishmonger. If he does not pay he will loose an eye (the other was cut out by the head fishmonger) to a psycho, almost perverted, fishmonger as payment - played very scary and with force by newbie Stephen Manwaring (Molly). Also, there are ruthless bailffs (head bailiff Russell exellently played by Drew Edwards) to contend with, mad Tramps, a vengeful father, an angry young Asian lad, a mad lighter lady, his Mother who is on the game and various ex's and an excellent soundtrack. Also, sarah Matravas is great with those (in the words of Tony Soprano) "Charles Manson Lamps" (crazy eyes) - great stuff!There are twists and turns galore and to be frank - the characters are barking - and i loved them for the shear entertainment value. There is also nice pace changes...sometimes slow but then 'bang', we get an explosion of action...this kept me on the edge of my seat.I hope for British Film's sake that this gets a good release in 2008 and thank god this is not another Gangster film!!! Most of the cast you will not of heard of but I hope you will by the end of 2008!!! If you like David Lynch and A clockwork Orange and you want to see a Film that has Cult potential, then go a see Saxon. Barking and Bonkers but brave!!! IronDuke

The Saxons were famous for North Sea piracy. In the 5th Century, there was an area of England known as 'litora Saxonica', owing either to the liability to Saxon attack or, as some think, the establishment of Saxon colonies there.Saxon is also the name of a grim, modern-day council estate in London. A place where people are under constant threat from brutal bailiffs.Fast Eddie just wants to get away. To Spain, preferably. But fresh out of the nick for killing a bailiff, trouble seems to follow him. Like the £500 he borrowed before going inside. It's now turned into £10,000. Loan shark Sammy removes one of Eddie's eyes. Just to keep things running smoothly. Now Eddie looks a bit of a prat with a bandage over one eye. Linda, an old sweetheart, wants nothing to do with him. But she needs a favour a too. So Eddie gets hired as her private detective to track down missing millionaire husband Kevin. A job that soon gets him into even more bother.Saxon erupts onto the screen and it takes a little longer than usual to get comfy again in your seat. Is it a thriller? A comedy? A violent slice-of-life soap? Or a western, a fantasy-adventure, transported to an unlikely setting? Nothing seems to fit. Eddie has the air of a Don Quixote. He hasn't had the time to find his feet before trouble finds him. He tramps about uneasily. By turns, an object of fear and ridicule.With such uncertain genre signals, one of the difficulties with Saxon is believing in the characters. They seem reality-challenged without being fully surreal. High production values could bring off such an uneasy marriage in O Brother Where Art Thou, but I felt Saxon expected a lot of me to suspend disbelief in the face of such uneven characterisation. There are moments of touching brilliance, such as when Eddie and his mother meet up. In the dark, she doesn't recognise him. She calls out her services of the night - before they come face to face in mutual pain and embarrassment. At other times we have to give it a big benefit of the doubt to avoid the feeling that we are watching acting-by-numbers.What is so sad is that there are so many dazzling ideas here, so much talent that simply hasn't been polished into a sufficiently finished end-product. The film's website describes it as made with "hope, love, half a shoestring & private equity." Actors have received minimal fees and deferred payment. Eddie is remarkably elevated to a protagonist of almost mythical qualities by the end of the film. Greg Loftin (who debuts as director, writer, executive producer, editor, and casting director) accomplishes a supreme feat of pulling his many larger-than-life characters together in a clever and strangely satisfying finale. His first feature is an undoubted accomplishment. People have worked very hard to get it to the point where it has been nominated for the Edinburgh International Film Festival Michael Powell Award. The best reason to see it might be to witness such raw talent rearing its head on a non-existent budget. But it might also leave audiences feeling they have paid to see a stupendous student-level film rather than a movie worthy of mainstream release.As with any review, the opinion is only that of one reviewer. Saxon's quirkiness may hit you like a breath of fresh air, its originality enliven a jaded palate or two, or it might prove me wrong and win the Michael Powell. Or maybe I'm right and, in spite of the undeveloped qualities hiding beneath the surface, Saxon remains a missable low-brainer.