"A cloudy sky rules, formidable Victorian buildings stand still, and a smell of beer overwhelms the atmosphere. And then, quirky gunmen roam the city in a rush and all at once disappear into its underground paths and covered walkways. Arguably, Britain has got the character, the style, and a quite entertaining crime cinematic underworld.
From the American film-noir movement of the '40s to the French "policier" cinema of the '60s and then back to the classic Hollywood crime films of the latest decades, the on-screen universe of gangsters, thieves, and hired killers has always been dark, mysterious and terrifyingly multidimensional.
British crime cinema, however, has carried out a different course, utilizing its ethnic culture and creating a definable place of illegality, cynical yet charming characters, and bittersweet decline. Through Guy Ritchie's lens and upon familiar scratched pale faces, let's enjoy the unlawfully provoking Albion that we love."
