A London gangster boss takes a short break abroad and returns to find someone has it in for him.<br /><br />The film that took Bob Hoskins from minor British actor to Hollywood and the rest of the cast back to mainstream British television. Helen Mirren proves she is one of the few actresses that can play tough and sexy at the same time. <br /><br />This modest budget film is quite clever. It wears the clothes of a gangster film but is actually a violent whodunit. The setting of London gives it novelty and like all British pictures it has an array of small parts played with gusto by local actors.<br /><br />The film seems to borrow from real events (at one time the Mafia did want to bring gambling junkets over to London) but is mostly a work of fiction. Also curious is that it seems to give the impression that police corruption is rife which is not true of the late 70's. But this at least helps us understand Hoskins power.<br /><br />This is not to be missed if you are a fan of gangster films and want a change of scenery. Hoskins performance alone is worth the price of admission and look out for Pierce Brosnan at the end in a non-speaking role.