My Writings
Review - Mr Nice
Director Bernard Rose also wrote the screenplay for this entertaining movie which was adapted from Howard Mark's autobiographical book of the same name, written during a 7 year spell in Terre Haut Penitentionary, Indiana. Released on the same day as Mike Tyson, Marks couldn't help comparing the length of his original sentence (25 years) for, as he put it, "transporting beneficial herbs from one place to the other", with Tyson's 3 year sentence for rape. Although this scene is not included in the movie, it does rather sum up the movie's sympathetic handling of the main character, who was, after all, a notorious international criminal and once top of the FBI's Most Wanted List.
The movie has a linear format, beginning with Marks passing the Oxford Entrance Exam and moving from South Wales. Relishing the academic and social challenge, and, as a favour to an incarcerated friend, he soon becomes involved with smuggling recreational drugs.
Intoxicated by the extra income, as much as by smoking his own marijuana, Marks leaves his poorly paid teaching post to become a full time smuggler.
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His collaboration with the Afghan drug lord (Omid Djalili) proves very lucrative, but when smuggling becomes more risky, he eventually moves to Ireland to collaborate in a similar drugs for arms deal with notorious IRA fugitve Jim Mc Cann (David Thewlis), taking advantage of the more relaxed custom controls that existed there.
When Thewlis and Ifans are on screen together, there is terrific chemistry, but the opportunity for more humour and to develop this, the heart of the film, is not taken. There is a funny scene where the two attempt to contact by walkie talkie, but we soon leave this period of his life behind us, as Mr Nice, as he is now known, celebrates beating the British justice system by claiming a tenuous link to MI5, and after an enormously successful drugs operation, he moves to the USofA with wife and kids in tow.
Mrs Nice (Chloe Sevigny) suspects throughout that the drugs don't work,
but its nice to see her face again and as usual she does not disappoint
- one of the most prominent 'method' actresses of her generation.
The film is a very entertaining biopic that enjoys a superb cast and
good performances. There is a lot to get through, and we see little of
the despair of our hero when he is finally incarcerated, which could be
a film in itself. Perhaps a more maverick director such as
Quentin Tarantino would have spent longer on the highs and lows of this
quite remarkable tale, and less on the bits in between, but the
story as depicted here is guaranteed to afford Howard Marks a widespread
renown; way beyond his previous status as a legend in his own
lunchtime, telling tall tales down the boozer. Remarkably, it appears
most of these were true.
7/10 Engrossing
Review written by John Franklin : November 2010
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