Best Laid Plans

2012 "Some Friendships are worth fighting for"
6.3| 1h48m| en
Details

David Blair directs this powerful British Drama, loosely inspired by John Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men'. Set in Nottingham, the film revolves around the relationship between the thuggish Danny (Stephen Graham) and Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a giant of a man with a mental age of seven. When Danny finds himself in debt to a local crime boss, he feels he is left with no choice but to manipulate Joseph into participating in a series of underground cage fights from which Danny can pay his debts.

AD
AD

Watch Free for 30 Days

All Prime Video Movies and TV Shows. Cancel anytime. Watch Now

Trailers & Clips

Reviews

Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.
Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.
goatbut29 I was very impressed with this film. The actor playing Joseph was nothing short of brilliant and tender. I found myself wishing that no matter how it ended, Joseph would be taken care of.I must give props to the director for putting it all together in such a soft and yet gripping way. Someone had a vision with this piece and I hope they got what they were after.I hope the actor playing Joseph gets the respect he deserves and I feel honored to have stumbled upon this gem.I would highly recommend this movie to anyone old enough to take the emotional pounding.
tonyfitz777 First of all, let me say that there is a certain statement of fact to be made about 'Best Laid Plans' and it is this. If you have any appreciation or respect at all for the medium of British Independent film, then the sleeve credits alone will ensure that you simply cannot pass this one by. I say "will ensure" because "should ensure" in this context would quite simply be a redundant phrase.Credits do not of course guarantee that any film will live up to its promise, but realistically speaking, anybody who loves and understands this genre and appreciates the luminaries within it would be a fool to bet against the credibility of the acting and directional talent gathered here. Which is why it is interesting and refreshing to hear the views of a couple of American critics on this platform, and equally why one British critic, puzzling though his observations are, is probably better ignored. Not that I wish to dwell too much on the critique of other critiques, it's just that this film delivers so much bang for what was probably its buck, and does it on so many levels that it is difficult to imagine where such scathing detraction could possibly come from. The leveller here is a simple one, if you don't like this movie... then you just don't get it. First and foremost, what we have here is a damned good story. Start with a big black guy carrying a washing machine and wonder where on earth this could possibly be going. What you get is an intriguing premise, with even more intriguing sub-plots woven into it, no spoilers coming here by the way... see the movie. An often unavoidable truth with independent cinema is that in return for that elusive damned good story, it is never by any means certain (given the absence of Hollywood's millions) that you are going to get any icing on your cake. Yet in this regard "Best Laid Plans" exacts itself as a true David to Hollywood's flabby Goliath. Take some Ken Loach style social realism, throw in some Nick Love style menace, some convincingly stylised violence, and not one but two touching love stories. Then start dealing with some deep themes,like isolation, greed, relationships, and while you're at it why not be audacious enough to examine the concept of love, with stark honesty and through a slightly skewed lens? Why not indeed? This is a brave piece of storytelling and you really don't get away with this kind of stuff without a pretty slick script and a bunch of stellar performances from a gifted cast. Chris Green is definitely one to watch in terms of the former.I would equally have to concede some understatement in comparing David Blair with any other director. Since he has clearly taken both script and cast and made the whole thing fly. So there must be a downside...perhaps the shooting? Nope, it's all dark and brooding when it needs to be and bright and evocative when it doesn't. So you may want to consider for a minute the ruminations on the philosophical themes of lost souls, complicated relationships and life's meaning at, let's say the estimated $32,000,000 price tag at which "Tree of Life" came in.Hell of a lot of icing there... but not much in the way of cake. And then see this gem and be thankful... because Hollywood would simply have ruined it.
riggabigg A really good movie .. The characters are 99% The script does not ruin it ..It's a really good performance .. The story is whole ....It kept me at least 99% through the whole movie...If the score is from 1 to 10 . i will give it about 8.4 .. but there are of course things u have to get by .. meaning ... slow beginning.. but the movie is great. I recommend it .....It is a movie about .. when men/women .. are faced with no choice at all
Gstephen70 Strong 8 vote from me. Strong performance by both lead actors. SG and AAA are cast well for the roles they are to play in this movie. Both roles are quite convincing. The drug-use and sleaziness is what makes it real. It's not a Hollywood blockbuster and shouldn't be viewed as such. If they spent 500,000 to make it, that would be a lot. But given the strong performances by all the actors, it deserves a watch. Enjoy. Well, IMDb says I have to have 10 lines so I will add the fighting was surprisingly real given AAA's size. As I doubt there was any stunt double for this, my hats off to AAA. Well done man. Another strong show. Wish we could hang. You must have some stories. OK. That's 10 lines. Have a nice day, and check this movie out.

Similar Movies to Best Laid Plans