New Town Killers

During the great depression, cinema proved a fertile avenue for escapism and catharsis, with filmmakers producing some of the golden greats of movie history: we can only hope that the current recession will inspire a masterpiece or two. Until then, however, we’ll have to make do with New Town Killers, a film of confidence and ambition, but little in the way of style or ideas. Council estate lad Sean (Control’s Pearson) is forced into acting as quarry for two private bankers (Scott and Mackenzie) who hunt the poor lad through Edinburgh for kicks. A decent premise, but the ensuing chase is flat and unimaginative: just how many times can our hero leap from a window or hide behind a door? With characters behaving illogically and a plot which lazily descends into violence, we can only hope Jobson will quit the B movies and start living up to 16 Years of Alcohol.