When sailors come ashore, bearing gifts and pay, all sorts of antics are inevitable and women, drink and crime will almost certainly be involved. 'Pool if London' tells a likely lads tale which is embellished by progressive sensibilities to be almost a parable on race, gender, class, sexual and professional politics.
This heavy embellishment of political virtues has both blessings and blowouts for 'Pool of London' to carry. The writing and the acting isn't quite up to synthesising the parts into a cohesive sum; and the director and the editor are unlikely to be missed off the list of culprits by the investigations of the Met police.
This film has quite a free hand exploring it's working class characters and it doesn't veer away from checking out their vices, and those of their womenfolk, just as much as it dwells on their virtues.
There is some added spectacle due to the involvement of an acrobat in the central crime, and the larger than life James Robertson Justice being as large as ever in a small supporting part.
The location shooting is highly noteworthy, certainly artistically, and definitely academically and historically, and the shots of ships, river, city, streets, buildings and vehicles are all well captured and educated.
The themes may sag a bit of a weight onto the tale, but the strong tonal assurance and the nice art design gives 'Pool of London' greater artistic heft. This allows 'Pool of London' to mix it's little likely lads story with it's loftier themes to a good effect.
Part kitchen sink drama, part problem picture, part crime melodrama, part character drama, the tonal and artistic strengths and the location shooting are also of sufficient merit to hold these narrative threads together.
I rate at 6.5/10 and I am almost inclined to round up to a 7; but I can't because it occasionally gets a bit boring or pretentious. I recommend to fans of realistic noir, and of historical London.
This heavy embellishment of political virtues has both blessings and blowouts for 'Pool of London' to carry. The writing and the acting isn't quite up to synthesising the parts into a cohesive sum; and the director and the editor are unlikely to be missed off the list of culprits by the investigations of the Met police.
This film has quite a free hand exploring it's working class characters and it doesn't veer away from checking out their vices, and those of their womenfolk, just as much as it dwells on their virtues.
There is some added spectacle due to the involvement of an acrobat in the central crime, and the larger than life James Robertson Justice being as large as ever in a small supporting part.
The location shooting is highly noteworthy, certainly artistically, and definitely academically and historically, and the shots of ships, river, city, streets, buildings and vehicles are all well captured and educated.
The themes may sag a bit of a weight onto the tale, but the strong tonal assurance and the nice art design gives 'Pool of London' greater artistic heft. This allows 'Pool of London' to mix it's little likely lads story with it's loftier themes to a good effect.
Part kitchen sink drama, part problem picture, part crime melodrama, part character drama, the tonal and artistic strengths and the location shooting are also of sufficient merit to hold these narrative threads together.
I rate at 6.5/10 and I am almost inclined to round up to a 7; but I can't because it occasionally gets a bit boring or pretentious. I recommend to fans of realistic noir, and of historical London.
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