Like Mike Hodges' in his crime classic "Get Carter" (1971) starring Michael Caine, British director Mike Figgis takes another disturbing view on the dark city of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in this modern British jazz and crime drama. In "Stormy Monday", pop singer Sting plays a jazz club owner who is threatened by American business man Tommy Lee Jones who wants to take his club with violent oppression. Unfortunately Sting's close friend Sean Bean falls in love with Jones' girlfriend Melanie Griffith...
Even if you know this kind of plot from many other crime thrillers and serie noire dramas, this movie is well-balanced, thrilling, fascinating and fast-pacing. The actors are great, the pictures of the city of Newcastle, though photographed in rather neon-like 1980's glamour style, nearly as dark and menacing as in "Get Carter", and the superb jazz sound track (mainly composed by Figgis himself) adds much atmosphere to the story - and even Sting plays a great double bass solo on stage! Watch this great modern crime movie, as it's a good example of the rise of modern British cinema in the 1980's. I wish they would make such movies here in Germany...
Even if you know this kind of plot from many other crime thrillers and serie noire dramas, this movie is well-balanced, thrilling, fascinating and fast-pacing. The actors are great, the pictures of the city of Newcastle, though photographed in rather neon-like 1980's glamour style, nearly as dark and menacing as in "Get Carter", and the superb jazz sound track (mainly composed by Figgis himself) adds much atmosphere to the story - and even Sting plays a great double bass solo on stage! Watch this great modern crime movie, as it's a good example of the rise of modern British cinema in the 1980's. I wish they would make such movies here in Germany...