This film is part of Rentals
Free Fire
Ben Wheatley’s (High-Rise, Sightseers) all-guns-blazing bullet opera, starring Brie Larson, Cillian Murphy and Armie Hammer.
Director: Ben Wheatley
Overview
Ben Wheatley’s ascent as one of the UK’s most dazzling and prolific cinematic talents continues with this ballsy, high-octane action thriller. Sharp-witted Justine (Brie Larson) brokers a deal on behalf of two Irishmen (Cillian Murphy, Michael Smiley), setting them up to buy a stash of guns from seedy gangsters Vernon (Sharlto Copley) and Ord (Armie Hammer). But the meet-up in a deserted warehouse derails when stoner side-kick Stevo (Sam Riley) recognises one of the two handover guys (Jack Reynor, Noah Taylor) and shots are fired.
Dripping with blood, sweat and irony, Free Fire’s bravura filmmaking pays knowing tribute to the kinetic cinema of directors such as Sam Peckinpah and Ringo Lam. Wheatley and writing/editing partner Amy Jump’s relentlessly playful riff on the shoot-em-up is as fascinated with the slowness of destruction as it is with speed and action. The virtuosic editing and complex staging (it was shot on location in a warehouse outside Brighton) serve not only to propel the mayhem, but also to emphasise just how bloody long it takes, and how messy it is, to obliterate everything.
Notionally set in Boston and steeped in 1970s Americana (with threads and hairdos to die for… literally), the crackling script and knockout cast have as much fun with character and dialogue as we do with the fact that there are no mobile phones to save the day. Wheatley fan and supporter Martin Scorsese is one of the executive producers and the film’s intermittent, pulsating score is by Geoff Barrow (Portishead) and Ben Salisbury.
Related
Kill Kill
Action and Adventure 2023 105 mins Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
A pair of commandos square off against savage bandits in this breathless action thriller set on a moving train.
La Chimera La Chimera
Action and Adventure 2023 132 mins Director: Alice Rohrwacher
Alice Rohrwacher’s fascinating new drama finds Josh O’Connor’s fish out of water delving into the world of stolen artefacts.
High Ground High Ground
Action and Adventure 2019 105 mins Director: Stephen Maxwell Johnson
A young Indigenous man teams up with a policeman to track down a warrior outlaw in this piercing exploration of justice and morality within the Australian settlement.
Vesper Vesper
Action and Adventure 2022 114 mins Director: Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper
In a desolate post-apocalyptic future, a young teenage survivor has to avoid scrutiny from her uncle (a menacing Eddie Marsan) and the ruthless authorities pursuing her in this dark and dangerous fairytale.
Arctic Arctic
Action and Adventure 2019 98 mins Director: Joe Penna
Mads Mikkelsen astounds in this gripping tale of one man’s gruelling fight for survival against the elements.
Black '47 Black '47
Action and Adventure 2017 100 mins Director: Lance Daly
During the Great Famine, an Irish Ranger returns from war to discover even greater devastation at home.
Viceroy's House Viceroy's House
Drama 2017 106 mins Director: Gurinder Chadha
Gurinder Chadha channels David Lean for this sweeping romance set during the last days of the Raj, with Hugh Bonneville and Gillian Anderson as Lord and Lady Mountbatten.
The Levelling The Levelling
Drama 2016 84 mins Director: Hope Dickson Leach
Hope Dickson Leach's hugely impressive first feature about a middle class farming family’s crisis, set against the backdrop of the Somerset floods.
Trespass Against Us Trespass Against Us
Crime 2017 99 mins Director: Adam Smith
Brendan Gleeson and Michael Fassbender are the father and son outlaws in this exhilarating crime drama with a Chemical Brothers soundtrack.
Who's Gonna Love Me Now? Who's Gonna Love Me Now?
Documentary 2017 86 mins Director: Tomer Heymann and Barak Heymann
A heartfelt exploration of one man’s struggle to reconcile with his Israeli family, while finding a new ‘family’ in London Gay Men’s Chorus.
A United Kingdom A United Kingdom
Drama 2016 111 mins Director: Amma Asante
Amma Assante (Belle) directs this impassioned drama starring David Oyelowo and Rosamund Pike depicting an interracial romance that changed the world.
The Sky Trembles and the Earth Is Afraid and the Two Eyes Are Not Brothers The Sky Trembles and the Earth Is Afraid and the Two Eyes Are Not Brothers
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2016 95 mins Director: Ben Rivers
Britain’s brilliant experimental filmmaker Ben Rivers (Two Years at Sea) presents this haunting desert parable which follows a filmmaker’s abduction and ritual humiliation.
On the Basis of Sex On the Basis of Sex
Biopic 2018 120 mins Director: Mimi Leder
Defiant dramatisation of the early career of future U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones), as she faces adversity and numerous obstacles as a struggling attorney and new mother.
High-Rise High-Rise
Science Fiction 2016 119 mins Director: Ben Wheatley
Ben Wheatley's savage and brilliant adaptation of JG Ballard's dystopian satire, starring Tom Hiddleston.
Kill List Kill List
Crime 2011 92 mins Director: Ben Wheatley
Ben Wheatley’s ultra-violent second feature, invoking both The Wicker Man and Apocalypse Now.
Sightseers Sightseers
Comedy 2012 88 mins Director: Ben Wheatley
Young lovers Chris and Tina turn their first holiday together into a rural killing spree in Ben Wheatley's priceless black comedy.
Only the River Flows Only the River Flows
Crime 2023 102 mins Director: Shujun Wei
Shujun Wei's slow-burn noir draws us inexorably into its mysterious psychological journey.
The Critic The Critic
Period drama 2023 101 mins Director: Anand Tucker
Ian McKellen is in delicious form as London's most vicious critic, who strikes a Faustian pact with a struggling actor (Gemma Arterton).
Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.
Timestalker Timestalker
Comedy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.
South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic South: Sir Ernest Shackleton's Glorious Epic of the Antarctic
Documentary 1919 81 mins Silent Director: Frank Hurley
An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.
Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.