LONDON FIELDS (2018)

Genre: Crime/Mystery/Thriller
Director: Mathew Cullen
Cast: Amber Heard, Billy Bob Thornton, Jim Sturgess, Cara Delevingne, Theo James, Gemma Chan, Jaimie Alexander, Jason Isaacs, Lily Cole, Johnny Depp
RunTime: 1 hr 48 mins
Rating: M18 (Sexual Scenes and Nudity)
Released By: Shaw Organisation
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 29 November 2018

Synopsis: A murder story for the end of the millennium, LONDON FIELDS centers upon Nicola Six, a "black hole" of sex and self-loathing intent on orchestrating her own extinction. A psychic who has succumbed to a series of false premonitions, Nicola must now contend with one that could be her final vision. Feeling compelled to patronize a London dive bar, she encounters two different men - Keith Talent, a violent lowlife whose only passions are pornography and darts, and the rich, honorable, and dimly romantic Guy Clinch - one of whom might be her killer. As Nicola leads her suitors toward the precipice, London - and, indeed, the entire world - seems to shamble after them.

Movie Review:

Amber Heard carved a name for herself starring in horror thrillers liked All The Boys Love Mandy Lane and The Ward before her short-lived, troubled marriage to superstar Johnny Depp overshadowed her movie career.  

Before she returns (in probably her biggest role to date) to the big screen in the DC superhero flick, Aquaman, brace yourself for the most pretentious movie of the year, London Fields which ironically starred Heard and her uncredited ex-beau.   

Based on an acclaimed novel by British writer Martin Amis, London Fields encompassed themes of sex, seduction, murder and apocalypse but comes out short in every area that legal tussles between the director and producers didn’t allow it to be release until 2018, almost five years after the movie was shot.

Billy Bob Thornton stars as a dying, writer’s block suffering American writer, Samson Young who came to London in search of inspirations for his last book. In his fancy loan apartment, he came across a mysterious sexy woman, Nicola Six (Amber Heard) who supposedly possessed the power to predict future events liked the date and location of her death for example. Intriguing right? However, either the cinematic version of Amis’ original material didn’t turn out as shot or music director turned film director Mathew Cullen has read the wrong book, the rest of the movie has Nicola swirling herself around with another two men, Keith Talent (played by an unrecognizable Jim Sturgess), a scumbag with a talent for darts and Guy Clinch (Theo James from Divergent), a rich unhappy married man. 

So instead of exploring ways to escape her tragic death, Nicola switches from being a vamp to a virgin and tempting death by playing slutty and trashy to Keith and Guy simultaneously making sure that Young is taking notes and making her life story as his latest novel. So who in the end is the killer of Nicola? Is it Keith the crook or the overzealous Clinch? Or is it even the terminally ill Young who boringly narrates the entire movie? I guess most will be tempted to walk out of the hall after an hour into it if not for Heard’s constant lingerie changing and unnecessary nudity bits as the muddled flick lingers on aimlessly.    

London Fields is certainly one hell of a lousy movie. It has lackluster visuals, cheap sets, atrocious pacing and weird motives. At some point, we are introduced to a loanshark with nice long sideburns and a laugh-out-name, Chick Purchase. Chick for info is nicely portrayed by an uncredited Johnny Depp and he of all people happens to play the most interesting character. Despite being a bad movie, you might be able to spot a couple of familiar faces liked Cara Delevinge (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets), Jason Isaacs (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows), Gemma Chan (Crazy Rich Asians) and Jaimie Alexander (Thor). Most likely lured by the fact it’s based on the prestigious Martin Amis’ novel.    

Seriously, no one bothers in the end whether a director’s cut exists elsewhere given the atrocious storytelling and less than interesting characters. Perhaps all the off-screen fuss and tussles by the filmmakers might make a worthier tale to tell instead of this neo-noir uneventful affair. 

Movie Rating:

(The sexually attractive Amber Heard acting as a temptress can’t save this mess of a movie if you can still call it a movie)

Review by Linus Tee