London Boulevard

"Not every criminal wants to be one."

2010 1h 43m EN

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 841

DramaCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A parolee falls for a reclusive movie star while trying to evade a ruthless gangster.

“Not every criminal wants to be one.”

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Cast

Colin Farrell
Harry Mitchel
Keira Knightley
Charlotte
David Thewlis
Jordan
Anna Friel
Briony Mitchel
Ben Chaplin
Billy Norton
Ray Winstone
Gant
Eddie Marsan
DI Bailey
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Dr. Raju

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: William Monahan
Writers: William Monahan
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 16 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by William Monahan, shot by Chris Menges. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Serge Pizzorno. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Dody Dorn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley and David Thewlis carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Not every criminal wants to be one.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1213648 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

William Monahan directs. Chris Menges behind the camera. Serge Pizzorno scores. Dody Dorn cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 33% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 16 years ago.
3Directed by William Monahan, shot by Chris Menges. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Serge Pizzorno. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Dody Dorn shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Colin Farrell and Keira Knightley and David Thewlis carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Not every criminal wants to be one.".
8IMDB entry: tt1213648 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Chris Menges
Original score: Serge Pizzorno
Editing: Dody Dorn
Production design: Martin Childs
Costume design: Odile Dicks-Mireaux
Makeup / hair: Christine Blundell
VFX supervisor: Paul Norris
Sound: Tony Lamberti
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $8,307,227
Return: 33% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: London Boulevard (2010)

Also by

William Monahan

Mojave
2016 · ★ 5.0

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2018-03-26
I will hurt someone before they hurt me. London Boulevard is written and directed by William Monahan. It stars Colin Farrell, David Thewlis, Ray Winstone, Ben Chaplin, Keira Knightley and Anna Friel. Music is by Sergio Pizzorno and cinematography by Chris Menges. After serving his stretch for GBH, Harry Mitchel (Farrell) returns to his manor and finds gangland boss Rob Gant (Winstone) wants him as one of his charges. Written and directed by the man who co-wrote The Departed, it's not hard to guess what sort of tone London Boulevard is set at. Which for anyone who follows neo-noir will find plenty to like here, not least the stylish and tonally compliant photography of Menges. However, falling under the neo-noir banner becomes a curse in a way because there are far greater films of this ilk to liken it too. Pic at least does have the courage to not cop out in resolutions, but again there is no surprise factor for the genre faithfuls. The narrative often meanders, shoehorning in Knightley's (underused) harassed actress as a love interest in the process, and London accents are choppy. It also is criminal to have Stephen Graham and Eddie Marsan in your movie and barely give them screen time! On the plus side of things, the violence and dialogue is often taut and tart respectively, backed by a scorching rocky hipster soundtrack. Farrell is good value as a tough guy, Winstone does what he does best, menacing of course, while Thewlis steals the film as a wired cool cat with menace surprisingly lurking in is heart. As a whole it fails to hit all the right spots, but enough in here for neo-noir fans to feed on as an appetiser to a more fulfilling noir meal. 6/10

Production companies