Jackdaw

There is a lot to like about indie action thriller “Jackdaw,” from its bold visuals, strong lead performance, and inventive action scenes. The bones for a wickedly successful film are there, but writer/director Jamie Childs can’t quite get a hand on the character development and related emotional weight that’s so desperately needed. It takes such a long time to get going that I was disengaged before the movie even hit the 20 minute mark. That’s why the movie feels as though it’s designed to keep viewers at a distance, which is its downfall.

Set in coastal England over the course of a single night, former motocross champion and Army veteran Jack Dawson (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) returns to his hometown to care for his brother Simon (Leon Harrop) after their mother dies. Jack wants to start a new life and provide for his sibling, so he jumps at the chance to take a job for Silas (Joe Blakemore), an old friend who is now a criminal. The simple task of picking up a mysterious package becomes a total nightmare after Jack is betrayed and Simon is kidnapped. This leads the man to a violence-fueled nocturnal odyssey as he searches for answers and fights to survive.

There’s very little plot to speak of, and the sparse story line really shows. There is a lot of repetitive filler, especially with the multiple scenes of characters at raves, and the story takes a long time to get going. The action sequences fare better, with entertaining and creative fights. The inclusion of everything from jet skis, horses, motorcycles, and boats make this feel like a chapter out of a male extreme dream. The problem is, none of this ever develops into any meaningful care or attachment to the characters.

Jackson-Cohen has a terrific leading man quality, and he is appealing as the flawed, emotional Jack. He completely sells the action scenes too, which is no small feat. Maybe this is because Childs often confuses too-rapid pacing with excitement, because at times the action is hurled at the audience way too rapidly. He also has an awful tendency to overuse shaky cam (which is never, ever a pleasant experience for the viewer). The movie is visually appealing and Childs’ direction is skilled, if flawed.

If you’re into indie thrillers, “Jackdaw” may be one that’s worth checking out simply for the action. I found no emotional investment in the story or characters, so it just didn’t work for me.

By: Louisa Moore

Not wishing to start rumours, but if Oliver Jackson-Cohen and Jenna Coleman were ever to have child, it would be a thing of beauty! It may not, however, be terribly discerning as this film is nobody's finest hour. OJC is the eponymous character. A former moto-cross champion with a bit of baggage, he is reduced to intercepting packages strapped to wind turbines in the North Sea for his slightly bonkers dealer pal "Silas" (Joe Blakemore). Something's gone wrong with his latest mission though. There's no payday awaiting him at the rendezvous point, then he gets shot at by a man on a horse! Luckily his ageing bike has more HP that the real thing so he escapes only to run out of petrol, then thump a cop who tries to apprehend him, then end up calling in some favours to try and find who has kidnapped his brother "Simon" in apparent retaliation for him not delivering the goods. Still with me? "Jack Dawson" (yep, there are a few "Titanic" jokes) has now to try and fathom who has his sibling and en route we encounter some unsavoury types from England's North East before a frankly rather underwhelming denouement. Coleman features unremarkably once or twice, as does the quite engaging Thomas Turgoose as the outwardly weedy but surprisingly resilient "Craig" but the writing is all a bit bland, the story a bit thin and undercooked and the set-piece scenarios are just too staged - especially the police raid of the rave - to be effective. It's watchable and to be fair it doesn't hang around, but it could just as easily be an episode of "The Professionals" and I doubt I'll recall it for long.