Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageCircus (2000)
Director: Rob Walker
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Some movies are so determined to be different, sexy, stylish and surprising that their countless contrivances become painfully transparent and end up boring. In this British thriller, scripted by much touted up-comer David Logan, the insistent cynicism, the emphatically colourful villains and dialogue, the eye-grabbing Brighton settings, and most of all the relentlessly labyrinthine plotting soon forfeit emotional involvement. When you know for sure there's yet another shock twist coming in a minute, it's no longer unexpected. Moreover, the déjà vu extends beyond the tiresome eventfulness of the narrative to the way it's utterly imitative in the post-Tarantino vein. Hannah is a chess-playing chancer and gambler in with the local mob who agrees to kill Stormare's wife to finance his own dream of a new life abroad with wife Janssen. Things go awry, everyone's at war. Oh, and some of them are lying.Author: GA
Cast & crew
Director: Rob Walker
Producer: James Gibb, Alan Latham
Cast: John Hannah, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Brian Conley, Tiny Lister, Amanda Donohoe, Fred Ward, Eddie Izzard, Ian Burfield full cast
Genre(s): Thrillers
Duration: 95 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
London Children's Film Festival
Read our exclusive reviews of films playing at the 2009 London Children’s Film Festival
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Michael Haneke discusses 'The White Ribbon'
Dave Calhoun met with Michael Haneke in Munich to mull over the details of his Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now