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The Hot Potato

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The Hot Potato

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Summary

Crime caper based on a true story, starring Ray Winstone, Colm Meaney and Jack Huston. London, 1969: After an explosion at a Ministry of Defence building, a pair of East End chancers come into possession of a hunk of uranium. Realising that it could make them rich, or kill them, they head off to Europe to try and sell it.

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Review

A star rating of 3 out of 5.

David Parkinson

Apparently based on a true story, Tim Lewiston's film is set in 1969 and harks back to the kind of wisecracking crime caper that was then in vogue. The gleefully convoluted plot centres on a lump of uranium that lands in the lap of East London scrap merchant Ray Winstone after being "found" in a burnt-out Ministry of Defence facility by secretary Lois Winstone's dopily dodgy boyfriend (Jack Huston). But flogging the "hot potato" proves easier said than done, as the hapless trio encounters psychotic Irish twins, duplicitous Germans, a sinister G-Man, a ruthless Mossad agent and a glamorous Vatican envoy during an eventful excursion to the continent. Slickly staged and knowingly played by a fine ensemble, this is always highly enjoyable. However, it never quite gathers the momentum that would make its madcap twists and turns seem frantically hilarious rather than just fitfully amusing.

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5.5/10

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Credits

Cast

rolenameKennyRay WinstoneHarryColm MeaneyDannyJack HustonHarrisonDavid HarewoodCaroleLois WinstoneIreneLouise RedknappBill / BenJohn LynchFritzDerren Nesbitt

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Crew

rolenameDirectorTim Lewiston

Details

Languages

English

Guidance

Contains violence and some swearing.

Available on

DVD

Formats

Colour

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