Shopping

1996 "No one leaves without paying..."
5.4| 1h45m| R| en| More Info
Released: 09 February 1996 Released
Producted By: Film4 Productions
Country: United Kingdom
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

A dark, hip, urban story of a barren and anonymous city where the underclass' sport of choice is ram-raiding. An exciting game in which stolen cars are driven through shop windows to aid large-scale looting before the police arrive. For Tommy, it's a business, but for Billy and Jo, it's a labour of love. As the competition between Tommy and Billy grows more fierce, the stakes become higher and the "shopping" trips increasingly risky.

Genre

Drama, Action, Crime

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Director

Paul W. S. Anderson

Production Companies

Film4 Productions

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Shopping Audience Reviews

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
Grimerlana Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike
Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.
Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Theo Robertson This movie by Paul W Anderson hit a lot of controversy when it was released in 1994 with the usual right wing tabloids screaming that this film should be banned since it was encouraging a spate of ram raiding and joyriding . Certainly if you want to ban it on the grounds of quality control no one would miss it much , but as for encouraging anything it'd only encourage people not to go to the cinema to watch anymore films by Channel 4 The film starts with tough tearaway joyrider Billy played by Jude Law in his first starring role being released from his prison cell . Cut to Billy being led down a prison corridor by a couple of screws who put him in an interview room with veteran detective Conway played by Johnathan Pryce " So Billy what has prison taught you ? " A short pause and get that Oscar speech ready Mr Anderson " Don't get caught " Anyone not expecting that far too obvious line ? I had hoped for a second Billy would have said something along the lines of " Since I look like Jude Law and I've been in a prison surrounded by tough lags I've learned my lesson Mr Conway . I now have a rectum like a windsock and can assure you I will cause no more trouble " And that's the problem . The film is trying to sell a good looking , young British cast , the much hyped and quickly forgotten " Brit Pack " but seem absolutely unsuited to their characters as working class anti-heroes from the inner city . After being released from the big house Billy meets his Irish girlfriend Jo played by Sadie Frost . The strange thing is Ms Frost actually looks older here than she does in 2013 which gives the impression Billy has hooked up with some MILF Anyway they decide to carjack a BMW car with a cunning plan of ramming it from behind then when the driver runs up to remonstrate with them they sneak in to the BMW and drive off in it . The problem is this is done on a urban stretch of road and there's no possible way they could have hid anywhere and the two cars are only a couple of yards apart . It's almost as if they can teleport . This sets up a car chase with the police as Billy and Jo taunt the police with " Oh gosh aren't we a couple of posh actors having a bit of a laugh playing a couple of naughty chavs what ? " That's a major failing of the film with only JonathanPryce's human portrayal of Conway and Sean Pertwee's stock villain Tommy being in any way convincing That said seeing a bunch of young toffee nosed thespians straight out of stage school who'd totally brick it on a tough estate playing characters from da ghetto is genuinely amusing . Not so the rest of the film which has a bizarre structure in that if randomly chopped up the film and inserted the scenes in any haphazard manner you'd not notice any difference
Boba_Fett1138 This movie is really lacking a point. What kind of story were they trying to tell? Was there even a purpose or message to this all?Paul W.S. Anderson always has sort of been the king of mediocre movies. I have yet to see a Paul W.S. Anderson movie that is above the level of average. Not that his movies are horrible either, some of them are quite enjoyable but they just fail to make an impact in any way.All that this story is about are a bunch of rebellious teens being lazy and act as if the police are the biggest scum and villains on the Earth, while they are the ones breaking about ever law and causing mayhem, by stealing and wrecking stuff. It could had been a good or at least interesting story if it tried to make a statement about anything but the movie never does. At least I didn't get anything out of the story at all.It also doesn't exactly make any of the characters likable or compelling ones to watch and follow throughout this movie, despite that they are being played by some big name actors. Not that they were being big at the time yet. The movie features a still very young Jude Law and Sadie Frost and a supporting cast that among other consist out of Sean Bean, Jonathan Pryce and Jason Isaacs. Most of the characters however also make a pretty redundant impression. It tries to be a simple movie with a simple story but yet in throws in all these many pointless characters.It's not the worst movie you'll ever see but it's such a pointless and redundant movie to watch that there is no reason why you really should ever watch it in the first place.5/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/
Scarecrow-88 It's amazing that Paul WS Anderson, out of all those big budget Hollywood sci-fi action junk, his best film could be this much smaller scale, rather fascinating tale of London suffering from youth crime gone amok, with Brit street punks, aimless and violence-prone, many either hooked on, or selling, drugs, destroying cop cars(and the police themselves), driving stolen vehicles through store windows, pelting the police with whatever they can get their hands on. It's absolute anarchy, and we see that the 90's punk culture has served not the most model citizens of society, as they seem to have no career goals, no future, living a life of crime either for kicks or underground business. Billy(Jude Law)has just been released from yet another stint in prison, rejoining his gal pal, Jo(Sadie Frost), as they steal cars and cause general mischief. Billy's "nemesis" is Tommy(Sean Pertwee), someone who has made a little street "enterprize" for himself using footsoldiers to rob stores for merchandise to sell on his "black market". Tommy doesn't like Billy's gung-ho, "adrenaline junkie" ways and warns Jo she should abandon him before he leads her into trouble. Billy likes to live recklessly, on the wild side, and has gained quite a reputation for doing so, a sort of hero to the punks on the streets. Tommy, however, considers himself quite a businessman, peddling his goods at much cheaper prices for those with the money to pay him(his customers normally wish to pay less than he demands, but they know his goods is of a legitimate quality), and sees Billy as a threat to everything he holds dear. There's an inevitable confrontation, but Billy underestimates his rival, with severe consequences. A mall is both men's desired target, and there's an ace up Tommy's sleeve which might just cost Billy dearly. Jo is in love with Billy and has went out of her way to reveal this to him, pleading with him to leave London and run away with her..but, Billy is a stubborn young man who has a problem with Tommy's "takeover" of "his city". I think Anderson effectively shows a London in ruin, with tired, exhausted police(under the command of Jonathan Pryce's saddened, weary Conway)unable to control the youth revolt. We see streets as if war had broken out, with filth and poverty very alive, along with graffiti walls, damaged cars, and trash in abundance. The overwhelming populace of self-destructive, unruly, and unyielding young criminals, with seemingly nothing else to live for but raising hell, are presented in a surprisingly non judgmental way, although, I never felt Anderson was condoning their behavior..I think he was merely showing us a lifestyle outside the norm, following a lost generation fallen under the cracks(..and, we can see that there were a lot of them, too). We can see that Billy's need for kicks and thrills are bound to lead down a path of destruction, and the ultimate crime is that he'll take Jo with him since she's just too in love to get away while the going was good.
wes-connors For kicks, young and beautiful Jude Law (as Billy) and disaffected tough Sadie Frost (as Jo) steal cars, drive them into stores, and trash the places. They call it "Shopping". A rivalry develops between the two joy-riders and smarmy Sean Pertwee (as Tommy), who is the best store thrasher in the English neighborhood. Director Paul Anderson's star displays only a fraction of his later acting success; surprisingly, most of the spark occurs between Ms. Frost and Mr. Pertwee. "Shopping" seems meant to be compared with "A Clockwork Orange" - a certain musical interlude drives that point home - but, neither Mr. Law nor the film approach Malcolm McDowell or Stanley Kubrick. Not that it doesn't have style, mind you. And, Jonathan Pryce, Sean Bean, and Marianne Faithful help make the trip. Anderson should have ended with Law being thrown from the car into a bloody display with the store mannequin; instead, he blinked...***** Shopping (6/24/94) Paul W.S. Anderson ~ Jude Law, Sadie Frost, Sean Pertwee