Best Laid Plans

One can pay all the usual compliments to British Film Making e.g underplayed, gritty,thoughtful, etc. but I think this movie is exceptional. The story line is well crafted and the acting from all participants, is superb. The "Mentally Disabled" roles played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Maxine Peake are sensitively portrayed and Stephen Graham is,as always,brilliant! The fight scenes are particularly "Squirm Making"and the dreary Nottingham scenics were well chosen and cleverly filmed. I find it hard to believe that it only rates 6 on the IMDb site! Great work from you British Film Makers Keep'em coming!

This is an odd combination of heartwarming friendship and crime. Danny (Stephen Graham) owes a crime boss big money. Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is his mentally handicapped friend who is strong as an ox. Danny persuades Joseph to fight in underground cage matches to pay off his debt. This is something Joseph does not like to do. They both meet girls to add some spice to the plot. The acting was superb. The movie was well written, although I felt I had seen it before while watching it for the first time. For me the film wasn't overly entertaining. F-bomb, sex, nudity (Emma Stansfield)

I was very impressed with this film. The actor playing Joseph was nothing short of brilliant and tender. I found myself wishing that no matter how it ended, Joseph would be taken care of. I must give props to the director for putting it all together in such a soft and yet gripping way. Someone had a vision with this piece and I hope they got what they were after. I hope the actor playing Joseph gets the respect he deserves and I feel honored to have stumbled upon this gem. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone old enough to take the emotional pounding.

source: Best Laid Plans

This is an odd combination of heartwarming friendship and crime. Danny (Stephen Graham) owes a crime boss big money. Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is his mentally handicapped friend who is strong as an ox. Danny persuades Joseph to fight in underground cage matches to pay off his debt. This is something Joseph does not like to do. They both meet girls to add some spice to the plot. The acting was superb. The movie was well written, although I felt I had seen it before while watching it for the first time. For me the film wasn't overly entertaining. F-bomb, sex, nudity (Emma Stansfield)

Best Laid Plans is a British drama about a small time crook and his friendship with a man with learning difficulties. It is very much a modern day 'Of Mice and Men'. Stephen Graham is a very good actor and he excels in his role as the carer who struggles with moral dilemma's concerning their friendship. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje is excellent as the gentle giant. There are a few clichés among the backing characters but the strong cast do a good job with what they have. This is a relationship and character driven film and those looking for an action film will be disappointed. However for fans of gritty drama there is more than enough to keep your interest throughout the film. Some viewers may find it an uncomfortable film to watch due to it's themes and there are some brutal scenes. It is a bit of an uneven film at times but the ending really does make the film worthwhile. It is one of the most best shot endings of any film I've seen. Best Laid Plans is well worth watching.

If you're a fan of broader British cinema & Danny Graham give this a try with as little preconception as possible - if you're expecting a 'British gangster film' along the veins of 'Snatch' or anything else Guy Richie has made you may well be disappointed...or pleasantly surprised. Are there gangsters? Yes. Is there violence? Yes. Is there sex & drugs? Yes. Are there clichés? Yes Are any of these things what the film is fundamentally about? Or particularly gratuitous? No. They're part of a delicate story that has at it's heart a touching, but not exactly 'touchy-feely' relationship between a lovably flawed scouse rogue & his friend, a giant black guy with a gentle nature & learning difficulties - as they become increasingly caught up in a tragic & dangerous situation that forces them to go against their own natures & indeed, their friendship. Both characters have their own unique charm & their separate sub plots are just as enjoyable as the central story, in fact they're inseparable from it, giving it's simple premise the legs to move to different situations & emotional places quickly & seamlessly. The cynic in me saw a lot of potential clichés in the style & the story, but whenever the film fell into them I was surprised & delighted to find they were the moments that really struck a chord. From what I've seen & read 'Best Laid Plans' is a film that has suffered from some awful marketing at a time in cinema when it's difficult to sell a complex & moving British story to a British audience, let alone an American one. Luckily for me, I just read a few simple sentences about the plot, looked at the cast & pressed play hoping for the best (thank you Netflix). I imagine in a few years time, when enough people have seen the film & forgotten the trailers, it will find greater appreciation.

...as opposed to bittersweet. This British film was advertised on the DVD cover as being in the same vein as Lock, Stock and two Smoking Barrels, or Snatch. As a result I saw it unprepared, which was a good thing. This film is not a crime comedy at all, but a true blue drama. The story is loosely (I would say very loosely) based on Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, featuring a scrawny low-life and a gentle giant who share the same dream. In places it also reminds of Schulberg's The Harder They Fall. Typically for this buddy movie, it is the smart one of the duo who keeps on dragging doom over the two in his quest for self-destruction. Can he redeem himself before the inevitable sad ending?

Where to start from with this film? Any expectations of Hollywood glamor in this film is certain to result in some dissatisfaction as there is none of that. This is purely a British flick, but even at that I was held spellbound from the start till the end. Of course, some would cringe at the story line of exploiting a retarded individual for the purpose of "business", I would tell such people to get real, because such evil exists. People take advantage of the underprivileged everyday and it is not gonna end anytime soon. I believe it took some courage to make a film based on this and I must applaud the performance from all who acted in this film most especially Adewale and Stephen. Well done, great film. 10 out of 10 for an excellent flick.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Danny (Stephen Graham) is a scally low life in debt to big time gangster Curtis (David O' Hara) who is threatening to hurt his mentally impaired friend Joseph (Adowayle Agogoboyo Agabala) if he doesn't repay the debt soon. Danny sees no other way out, but to get Josepth to fight in illegal underground cage matches, which he does. But as he delivers more and more, the stakes get raised higher and higher, until Danny is forced to try and find a way out. Best Laid Plans is a curious effort, that starts by setting itself up one way and from the way it opens, seems to employ a different style to what you were expecting. But, while it ultimately manages to be an effective drama thriller, it remains a film that is unsure of it's tone and style and where it wants to go with itself. One theme it does settle on and seems to want to stick with through out, is the theme of disability and people with mental impairment problems, which leads to some uneasy and challenging viewing through out, as Joseph develops a romance with a fellow impaired person called Isabel (Maxine Peake), coming up against various trials and tribulations because of it. It's a surprising and daring theme to want to stick in a tale like this, and it doesn't help how morally reprehensible the lead character emerges, using his so called friend to fight in cage matches so he can pay off his grubby little debt to some gangster, while developing a relationship with call girl Lisa (Emma Stansfield) that takes an unconvincing turn at the end. The film aims to be a simple 'down on his luck ne'er do well trying to get out of bother' tale, that ends up being a dark look in to how callous and predatory human instincts can be. For all this, it remains a fairly well written, ambitious film with some reliably steely lead performances from the two lead stars. It's dogged determination to make the viewer feel a bit uncomfortable really is a blessing and a curse for it, though. ***