Sugarhouse (2007)

29% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
51% of users liked it
(870 ratings)

Actor-turned-director Gary Love makes his feature debut with this screen adaptation of co-screenwriter Dominic Leyton's acclaimed stage production Collision. Tom (Steven Mackintosh) is a middle class city boy who is currently scouring the back streets of London in search of an elusive and unnamed… More Actor-turned-director Gary Love makes his feature debut with this screen adaptation of co-screenwriter Dominic Leyton's acclaimed stage production Collision. Tom (Steven Mackintosh) is a middle class city boy who is currently scouring the back streets of London in search of an elusive and unnamed object. When Tom comes into contact with desperate young crack addict D (Ashley Walters), it looks as if he may have finally found what he's been looking for. Now, with time running out for Tom and D and psychotic local crime-lord Hoodwink (Andy Serkis) quickly closing in, the pair enter into a deadly game of cat and mouse that finds their mysterious goals gradually coming into focus as their hope to see another day glows ever more dim. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 34 min.
Directed By: Gary Love
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Aug 24, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Mar 10, 2009

Critic Reviews

Derek Elley, Variety
Three good actors get hijacked by a talky, pointless script.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
Strains so hard to establish some sort of rough street cred that it ends up feeling artificial.
Derek Malcolm, This is London
The film, in the end, looks very much like an adaptation of one of those preachy plays that tries too hard to tell it like it is among the underclass.
Stuart McGurk, thelondonpaper
Directed by Gary Love, early shots promise much but it never delivers. Essentially a Play For Today, with more crack and a syrupy ending you can see coming.
Anthony Quinn, Independent
In Gary Love's determinedly gritty Brit-crim movie, three good actors chase around a script that keeps promising more than it delivers.
Tim Robey, Daily Telegraph
What justified filming Dominic Leyton's play Collision is hard to see, but the decisions taken in opening it out are what truly wreck Gary Love's misbegotten attempt to do so.
Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
Dominic Leyton's script from his play starts as a flicker of fancy words and ends as a verbose fireball consuming all reality.
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]
Mackintosh's character is a bit sketchy, and his occasional, dramatic interventions were not really believable.
, Sun Online
The script invokes sympathy for the characters only at the end - and by then the audience will probably have ceased to care.
David Edwards, Daily Mirror [UK]
Less a movie and more a sustained panic attack, Sugarhouse is so unrelentingly violent, it's like being beaten with a housebrick for 90 minutes.
Jamie Russell, Film4
A low-budget Brit-flick that bucks against the usual "urban cinema" conventions while showcasing its talented cast. Although it runs out of steam, its opening energy and verve are impressive.
Tom Hawker, Total Film
Feeling like a short that's been stretched out and mugged of its unpredictable tensions, it's a static slice of ghetto hell.
Trevor Johnston, Time Out
Although the writing's exploration of common humanity across the social divide offers occasional worthwhile moral provocation, its evident theatricality also works against any sense of urban authenticity.
Aaron Davies, Little White Lies
A grimy, rage-filled film. Shame about the middle bit.
Kat Brown, Empire Magazine
Despite thin caricatures and dodgy dialogue, this still stands out on the street.
Matthew Turner, ViewLondon
Watchable, energetically directed thriller that doesn't quite come together, despite decent performances from Mackintosh and Walters.
Stella Papamichael, BBC
In the bristling and brutal crime thriller Sugarhouse, Andy Serkis delivers a performance that makes his turn as King Kong look like Johnny Vegas's knitted monkey sidekick.

Read all 17 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Lady D

Slow paced, but superbly acted, starring some of Britain?s most underrated Actors. The acting was so good, that parts had no dialogue at all and yet the storyline continued along its way. A gritty and realistic approach, which really added to the scenes of violence etc. An… More
Slow paced, but superbly acted, starring some of Britain?s most underrated Actors. The acting was so good, that parts had no dialogue at all and yet the storyline continued along its way. A gritty and realistic approach, which really added to the scenes of violence etc. An insightful look into a world few people will ever experience and some wish they didn?t.
Panta O

This screen adaptation of co-screenwriter Dominic Leyton's stage production Collision was a wonderful choice for Gary Love who makes his feature debut with Tarantino feel Sugarhouse. It's time to switch from British historical fakes to a real time movies... and to enjoy!