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This is the reason I watch British films. Its not for the pomp and circumstance and hither thee will and stuff. It's because the dialogue and characters are as rich as a velvet cake. From the opening scene I was engaged and entertained. Half the dialog in this movie doesn't push the story along just flushes out the character's more. The main characters just got out of jail and are desperately trying to figure out who turned them in. And by "desperately" I mean complaining about the quality of the welcome home cake. For being gangster they really never do anything gangsterish. No deals, no dealing with the police, no rival gangsters. Some brief repartee, some tit for tat then the next thing you know, …..They just start killing everybody for every reason, none that have to do with the upcoming court case and snitching.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning The plot to Down Terrace is mostly formulaic for the gangster genre- two men being released from prison, belonging to a crime family, trying to suss out the police informant who put them there, and everything going haywire as they near closer to who they think is the culprit. But it seems to think it's cleverer than maybe it is, with so little inspiration to the story and nothing snazzy in other departments. None of the dialogue rings true or feels natural and it's hard to take Jay's dad from The Inbetweeners seriously in one of the gangster roles. Someone else may interpret it a little differently, but personally, the novelty was lost. **

On repeated viewings, this film becomes more enjoyable as a very,very,very dark comedy.Initially as a crime/drama it has an endearing and shocking effect, but I can't help feeling that Ben Wheatley's intention for this was to be a dark comedy.It's raw, disturbing, but the outrageous psychosis in this film now has me laughing all the way through.The acting, claustrophobic camera work and the music are excellent.Deserves a 9/10.