Once upon a Time in London

BritCrime has a lot to answer for, as the shadow of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrelshas hung over all UK underworld movies since 1998. In charting the real-life rivalry between London kingpins Jack "Spot" Comer (Terry Stone) and Billy Hill (Leo Gregory), writer/director Simon Rumley boldly invokes the spirit of such sinister Mob pictures as Brighton Rock (1947) and No Orchids For Miss Blandish (1948). But the road to infamy rarely runs smooth and Rumley spends so long setting the scene that he finds himself pressed for time when it comes to Hill and Comer's increasingly brutal 1950s contretemps. As several other outfits keep muscling on to their manors, it becomes tricky to follow who's who, especially as Rumley also tries to focus on the women in Hill and Comer's lives. The performances are solid, the visuals slick and the pastiche score catchily effective. Yet Rumley simply doesn't have the resources or the scope to do justice to his ambition.