Alex Kingston, Amelia Lowdell, Charlie Creed-Miles

The British accents and lingo of Essex Boys are so thick it may help to watch with subtitles--but the moviemaking is clear and crisp. Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles) is a cabdriver who starts getti...( read more  read more... )ng chauffeuring gigs with some shady characters. But his life remains mild until he's sent to pick up Jason (Sean Bean from Ronin and Lord of the Rings), a short-fused mobster who's just been released from five years in prison. Jason quickly decides to settle some old scores and drags Billy along for the ride. Soon Billy is part of a mob--and finds he likes the money and status that go with it, despite the misgivings of his girlfriend and of his former mentor, Mr. D (Tom Wilkinson). When Jason's volatile jealousy leads him to mistreat his wife Lisa (Alex Kingston from ER), things take a turn for the worse and Billy gets in deeper than he ever expected. In its rough plot outlines, Essex Boys resembles Goodfellas--but the particular British flavor makes this a very different movie. Its gritty realism and attention to detail also separate it from the empty flash of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels; Essex Boys earns its suspense with sharp writing, strong performances all around, and lean, tight direction. An excellent addition to the recent spate of gangster flicks. --Bret Fetzer

Flixster Users

70% liked it

4,170 ratings

Critics

17% liked it

6 critics

R, 98 min.

Directed by: Terry Winsor

Release Date: January 1, 2000

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DVD Release Date: December 4, 2001

Stats: 230 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (230)


  • October 1, 2009
    Below average British gangster film and that's me being kind! Charlie Creed-miles is good, Sean Bean is crap and Alex Kingston's tits are average. Why get a guy from Sheffield to play an Essex boy? Shame there wasn't more room in that Land Rover for the rest of the cast!
  • May 15, 2008
    This fictional story based on the sequence of a true event, shows a glimpse in the British criminal underworld.

    With a psychotic performance from Sean Bean and a sinester role for Tom Wilkinson, Essex Boys is a great film of it's genre with a nice twist.
  • February 14, 2008
    Aactually based on a true story but its true...well over the top.
  • May 11, 2009
    Being a Essex Boy myself i had to see this movie. Based on a true story (i say based on as its a bit far off the truth). Some great acting from S Bean who plays the main hard man in this gangster movie that shows even gangsters get there comeuppances.
  • April 27, 2009
    I'd watch anything that had Sean Bean in it, but aside from that I've watched this several times & I luv' it!
  • March 19, 2009
    Dangerous bunch of fellas.
  • January 18, 2009
    Not the best Brit Gangster flick. But makes up for that by being based on a true story
  • December 10, 2008
    no thanks not my kinda thing
  • November 2, 2008
    these film was alot better then I thought it was going 2 be! Im a essex girl so big up essex lol
  • October 27, 2008
    One of my favourites! Love Sean Bean in this.

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Essex Boys Trivia


  • Who played the part of "Jason Lock" in the movie 'Essex Boys'?  Answer »
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  • What actor is in all of the following movies? National Treasure Equilibrium The Island Troy Essex Boys The Lord of the Rings Bravo Two Zero  Answer »
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