FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
 |
| FILM Shooting Fish The young British comedy team of director Stefan Schwartz and co-writer/producer Richard Holmes got the idea for Shooting Fish while waiting for the computer to spell-check an enormous formula thriller they were commissioned to do. Once you see the opening scam perpetrated by lovable swindlers Dylan (Dan Futterman) and Jez (Stuart Townsend), you might guess why. Shooting Fish balances a youthful, energy-packed, soundtrack-strewn visual dynamic with nonsensical, irreverent inventiveness - in short, these boys are clever! The story follows the comic and romantic adventures of two charming young scam artists and their female accomplice Georgie (Kate Beckinsale), who are engaged in a modern-day Robin Hood struggle to rip off the wealthy and return the money to poor, deserving orphans - themselves! When fate and a knack for scheming bring Jez and Dylan together in London, the result is a complicated plan to scam, cheat and extort the gullible, vain and rich to the tune of two million pounds, which they need to purchase their happy, domestic dream - a stately home. Along the way, they live on virtually nothing, resorting to wacky and brilliant day-to-day frugality to survive. When their foil, the conscience-ridden but equally resourceful Georgie, enters the picture, their motives are challenged and imminent romance blooms. What more can be said of Shooting Fish? The story is confusing at times only because of the film's pace and the wall-to-wall soundtrack that often obliterates the dialogue, but which is fantastic, nonetheless. Production value is high for a low-budget film and the colors and photography ooze with life. Director Schwartz's handling of the fledgling cast shows spontaneity and intuitiveness at its best. All the characters are wonderful and what could have been a sonic-assaulting recurrence of dark films like Trainspotting instead becomes a fun, fresh and warm-spirited frolic. |
| |