The Liability (2013)

THE LIABILITY is an interesting little UK thriller with a good premise: an ageing hit-man takes on a young driver to chauffeur him around to his latest hits. Despite the low budget of the production, such a premise allows for plenty of potential, especially when you put Jack O'Connell and Tim Roth in the central roles.And, let's be fair, O'Connell and Roth are the reasons to watch this. O'Connell shot the film when he was still working on his profile, and it's full of the same youthful energy and character as his role in TOWER BLOCK. Roth is more subdued and laidback, but there are flashes of the old brilliance here and there.Sadly, my enthusiasm surrounding THE LIABILITY gradually faded as the story progressed. The first half is decent, hinting at great stuff to come, but it all falls apart in the ridiculous and under-written second half. The introduction of Talulah Riley is the point at which it all becomes a little silly and more than a little dull, and even Peter Mullan's best psycho routine can't save it.

The Liability is a British film which doesn't really have a budget. Its script is only so-so and the only real star name attached to it is Tim Roth. Luckily, that does seem to be enough to pull it off.Jack O'Connell plays a young man who gets in trouble with his - slightly dodgy - stepfather and, as a punishment, is roped into the 'family business' and asked to do something equally dodgy, which involves driving hit-man Tim Roth to his next job.It's a road movie which could be pretty average if it wasn't for Tim Roth's performance. The comedy doesn't always work. The performances can be a bit stilted, yet Tim seems to carry the whole thing on his own and makes it worth watching.Special mention to the location scout who has found some truly outstanding filming locations around the north of England to set some of the action in.If you're a fan of low budget British gangster movies (or simply of Tim Roth) then you should give this a go. The ending seems to divide audiences, but the film is enjoyable enough for you to ignore that minor point if it isn't to your taste.

The Liability is a darkly comic crime thriller which at least tries to be different from the usual crime thrillers that are churned out ten to the dozen. It's a slightly surreal film in some ways probably due to characters, some of whom appear almost comic book like although the plot itself is definitely grounded in reality. I found myself hooked from early on and was intrigued to see how it all ended. There are a few scenes to make you wince and a bit of violence but nothing most won't have seen before. The cast is very strong. I particularly liked the performance of Jack O'Connell as the young lad. He is an actor I've seen in a few other films like Eden Lake and Tower Block and plays the cocky disaffected youth to a tee. Peter Mullan as the villain is excellent. Tim Roth is also good although I wasn't quite what to make of his character or The Girl played by Talulah Riley. I found this a very enjoyable film that offered something fresh to the genre. Well worth watching.

Tim Roth plays a hit man on his final job before his daughter gets married. Adam (Jack O'Connell) is an annoying 19 year old who accidentally discovers that his step father is more depraved than he thought. After crashing his step father's Mercedes, he is in his debt and he is given a job as a driver to pay him back. His contact is Roy (Tim Roth) and they go on Roy's last hit together. Wanting to be part of the gangster culture, Adam asks to be more than just a driver and things start to go wrong, especially when 'the girl' gets involved.The film is quite light hearted, considering its content and, at times is comical. Both lead actors play their parts quite well and create an enjoyable partnership. The storyline is a little week and everything that can go wrong, does goes wrong. I found myself rooting for Adam in the end and, despite being a professional killer, Roth's character is quite appealing.Overall, a mediocre film that I will not watch again but it was reasonably enjoyable, light hearted and funny in places.