Essex Boys (2000)

British Equivalent of Goodfellas -- and Just as Good
If you like your films with grit and non-sentimentality, then this film is for you.

The ensemble cast is as good as any group Scorcese or Tarantino have put together. Only, these actors are from the mean streets of Essex, England.

The highly underrated (by American audiences) Sean Bean (Boromir, Agent 006 and countless other memorable film characters) brings a realism to his psychotic character worthy of DeNiro and Pesci. (As an aside, Bean also starred alongside DeNiro in an international thriller, Ronin, and more than held his own with the New York City icon).

Alex Kingston (of E.R. fame) brings multiple dimensions to her character as the woman who is controlled by the men in her life and eventually needs to wrest the control for herself.

Tom Wilkinson (of The Full Monty, The Governess and In the Bedroom) adds a touch of crude elegance to his role as a high caliber drug pin.

If you have a hard time with the accents (which can get thick at times) then put on the English subtitles and sit back and enjoy. There is violence, but not more than most American crime films. This films has lots of action, but mostly it has good actors working from a good script, which isn't always the case in these kinds of films.

WOW.....
What a great movie......kills the Sopranos in all aspects, actually the Essex boys can kick Tony Sopranos butt.......This movie is the real deal, i'ts as close to a mobsters life you can get in real time Essex, England.

FANTASTIC !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Essex Boys
More violence than I normally like to watch, got the video because it had Sean Bean and was quite surprised by it. It takes considerable acting skill to be as good-looking as he is and make you not notice it. If I'd never seen the Sharpe series or anything else except Essex Boys and someone asked me to describe Bean, I would have said "tall, blond and ugly as homemade sin" because somehow, all you see is the dark, misshapen soul of the sick character he plays.
The acting and photography are all good, although the accents were too thick for my American ears, had to use sub-titles. The story was too sad and too violent for my taste, felt depressed as much as entertained. But if you like the genre, this is a well-made and engrossing film.