A story of British criminals, directed by Philip Barantini, with a sordid atmosphere and good scenes of violence.
What is Villain's plot?
Eddie Franks is a thief who gets out of prison after serving ten years of a sentence. The streets have changed, there are new criminals, young people, marking territory. In addition, the hardcore bosses who dominate the neighborhood have been doing business with his brother Sean Franks, who is now in trouble. He has been robbed of a kilo of drugs and has to pay for it or he will be killed. Eddie will have to help his brother, while he tries to talk to his daughter. He wants to do things right this time, but fate pushes him to make the same mistakes.
The criminal, who after spending years in jail, wants to rebuild his life, run a legitimate business, be a normal person, but who seems to have a magnet for trouble.
Stories like this Eddie Franks character that we have seen many times, are characters condemned by the sins of the past, which seem not to let them free. A criminal will always be a criminal.
Eddie wants to remake his relationship with his daughter, who has a little baby. Although she is hostile to him, for all the suffering he caused his late mother. She means well. In spite of being a hard man, we will feel compassion for Eddie. We will understand his pain for having failed as a father, now that he has a new opportunity, but...
...the brother, Sean Franks, is involved in shady deals and is a complete idiot. No one seems to take him seriously, not even the woman he lives and works with at the bar Eddie owns, but Sean has run it the entire time his brother has been in prison. It's because of that idiot brother that Eddie will have to get the devil out of his soul to stand up to the powerful men who control the neighborhood.
Much of the story is predictable, even its outcome, we see it coming, although that unexpected twist, what may surprise, is who executes the last action. Although it is somewhat predictable, this story of British gangsters has disturbing scenes, as well as being endowed with a rough atmosphere, where at any moment there can be an outbreak of violence.
A well-armed scene and the main character, with a lot of magnetism and charisma, is what keeps the interest in a film that meets the basic standards of this type of film, with criminals who seem to want to kill themselves with their eyes.
It is not an unforgettable movie, it is just an ideal distraction for lovers of crime stories. I am fascinated by crime stories, this one is made on a small budget, but it is ideal to watch on Sunday afternoon, to accompany Eddie in his attempt to save his foolish brother's life.
Who is the director of Villano?
The English actor Philip Barantini, who some will know for his performance as Wayne "Skinny" Sisk in the prestigious mini-series Band of Brothers, is in charge of directing this film of criminals who want to rebuild their lives. Baranti has participated as an actor in television series and movies, such as Hard Boiled , Ned Kelly and among the most recent as an actor, he participated in the acclaimed mini series Chernobyl. And now Barantini has also ventured into directing.
His first work in the director's chair was a short film called Boiling Point, starring the excellent actor Stephen Graham, who plays a chef who has a hectic life and whose conflict is about to explode. That first work is from the year 2019, he didn't take long to prepare himself to direct Villain, with a script written by Greg Hall and George Russo. I think Barantini has enjoyed directing and he does it very well, he is a young director, who is perfecting his style, I think these sordid stories go very well with his personality.
According to his record at IMDB, we will see him as an actor in two future productions and as a director, he is completing the version of his own short film Boiling Point, with the same cast. We have to keep an eye on this film, which has a release date of 2021.
Actor Craig Fairbrass plays Eddie Franks, the criminal who wants to rebuild his life, but fate is more powerful than his good intentions. Due to the physical characteristics of this actor, it is common to see him playing characters of this type, rough, criminal and violent. In his country he is well known for his participation in the series EastEnders, but he is a frequent actor in criminal dramas, especially I remember him for being the main character in the saga Rise of the Footsoldier.
The charisma he brings to the character, keeps us attentive to everything that happens. We want everything to go well for him, we want him to use violence to end the villains of the story, we want his daughter to forgive him and we hope he manages to escape from the police and start a new life, but we must remember that he is the villain of the film's title and that he will have to pay a price.
The other actors who make up the cast of the film are George Russo as Eddie's idiot brother, Sean Franks. Television actress Izuka Hoyle plays Chloe Franks, Eddie's half-breed daughter, with whom he must make peace and obtain forgiveness. And actress Eloise Lovell Anderson plays the girl who dances at the bar and is Sean's partner, who spends all day lying at home and getting high.
Ideal for those who like criminal dramas, the story is not at all original, but we will have fun watching how Eddie wants to avoid problems, but those problems will end up devouring him.
My Ranking: 2.7/5
