Hard Boiled Sweets

This article is about the British film. For the confectionery item, see Boiled sweets.

Hard Boiled Sweets
Directed byDavid L.G. Hughes[1]
Written byDavid L.G. Hughes
Produced byLara Greenway
Demelza Jones
David L.G. Hughes
StarringAdrian Bower
Philip Barantini
Elizabeth Berrington
CinematographySara Deane[2]
Edited byLloyd George[2]
Music byTom Morrison[2]
Production
company
Fatal Black
Distributed byUniversal Pictures[3]
Release date
  • 9 March 2012 (2012-03-09)
Running time
84 minutes[1]
LanguageEnglish
Box office$6,462

Hard Boiled Sweets is a 2012 British crime drama film written and directed by David L.G. Hughes. It tells the story of a group of squabbling Essex gangsters. The cast includes two actors (Paul Freeman and Ian Hart) that had appeared in Hughes' earlier short film A Girl and a Gun from which this, his first feature, was developed.[2]

Plot

London crime boss Jimmy the Gent travels to Southend in Essex to collect some monies owed to him by local gangster Shrewd Eddie. There, various assorted gangsters, corrupt police and petty criminals attempt to steal from Jimmy a case containing £1 million in cash.

Main cast

Actor Role
Philip Barantini Dean
Elizabeth Berrington Jackie
Adrian Bower Gerry
Liz May Brice Jenna
Paul Freeman Shrewd Eddie
Ty Glaser Porsche
Ian Hart Joyce
Nathaniel Martello-White Jermaine
Danny Sapani Leroy
Peter Wight Jimmy the Gent
Scot Williams Johnny
René Zagger Fred

Critical reception

The film was largely negatively received by reviewers. The Guardian's Henry Barnes described it as a glossy hybrid of American noir and British gangster films "with nothing under the wrapper".[4] Tom Seymour of Empire summed it up as "A miserable mess of gangland cliches and narrative tangle".[5] Tom Huddleston of Time Out also found it clichéd – "more Cockernee crime by numbers" – but also suggested that it had "a fistful of decent throwaway gags and enough plot surprises to just about carry it through the rough patches".[6] ScreenDaily praised its technical aspects including Anders Bundgaard's opening credit sequence and Sara Deane's cinematography, describing it overall as "an intriguing debut".[2]

Box office

The film received a limited release and according to Box Office Mojo took only $6,462 in two weeks in cinemas.[7] It was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on 30 April 2012.

References

  1. ^ a b "Hard Boiled Sweets | Film". The Guardian. London. 8 March 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e Adams, Mark (8 March 2012). "Hard Boiled Sweets | Review | Screen". Screendaily.com. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  3. ^ "AFM: Universal International Takes Content's 'Hard Boiled Sweets'". Deadline Hollywood. 5 November 2011. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  4. ^ Henry Barnes (8 March 2012). "Hard Boiled Sweets – review | Film". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  5. ^ "Empire's Hard Boiled Sweets Movie Review". Empire. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  6. ^ Tom Huddleston. "Hard Boiled Sweets | review, synopsis, book tickets, showtimes, movie release date | Time Out London". Timeout.com. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  7. ^ "Hard Boiled Sweets". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 31 January 2013.