Review of ‘Four’ [Martin Compston]

DVD Review of 'Four' starring Sean Pertwee and Martin Compston

by Holly Freeman, Brit Flicks (link below)

A film with only four characters set entirely in a warehouse; the components for either something entirely brilliant and insightful or something atrocious. Unfortunately, Four is the latter, it fails on every count lacking: an interesting plot, a solid script, aesthetic prowess or excellent acting.

Primarily, Four is boring. The plot encompasses an angry man who wants to avenge himself on his wife’s lover by physically abusing him in a warehouse having employed a detective to kidnap the man for him. Then a few entirely uninspired plot twists and continuity errors later, a few people die and the film ends. Sadly, the script didn’t rescue the film as one sentence could take up to five minutes to deliver as it was so heavily laced with swearwords in a style reminiscent of an eighties cop film or a tackier EastEnders.  Also, embarrassingly, a point that is heavily emphasised and laboured at the beginning of the film is entirely forgotten and contradicted at the end in an equally overt manner.

Sean Pertwee as the Detective is one of the few redeeming features of the film.  His performance is arrogant and seedy enough to make the two-dimensional character of the Detective stand up, this combined with his excellent estuary vowels provide a refreshing relief from the clumsy performance of Craig Conway. Initially, it seemed that perhaps Conway was struggling in his role as the angry husband because the angry husband was struggling, but as the film progresses it became clear that Conway did not have the ability to save his ridiculous character. Nor does he know how to punch. Martin Compston as the lover was adequate; his performance maintained a consistent standard despite the inconsistency of his character. As with Sean Pertwee, Kierston Wareing makes the most of her role as the wife. Chilling and vicious, Wareing almost salvages some emotionally charged scenes over a cigarette lighter. The acid-tongued verbal jousting with an illuminating metaphorical subtext meant...oh no, wait; it’s just a lot of swearing and snarling because they both want a cigarette. However, Wareing’s snarling enhanced the visual element to the film as it lent atmosphere. Her proficiency in the role also slightly lifted Compston’s clunky conduct.

It is possible to see the aspiration behind this film, as it attempts to challenge the typical trope of a hooded enemy, but the failure to create anything remotely compelling or realistic, means that unfortunately; Four was poor.

1/5 Stars

Four is available on DVD from May 7th 2012

Source: Brit Flicks