If you’re a fan of crime/heist movies packed with action and multiple intertwined sub-plots, do yourself a favor and check out the 2010 film “4.3.2.1.” Written and directed by British filmmaker Noel Clark (who has won two awards as a promising newcomer in the realm of film) “4.3.2.1.” features an ensemble cast of (mostly) unknown talent and plays out like a cross between two powerhouse crime classics; “Reservoir Dogs” and “Lock Stock & Two Smoking Barrels.” Veteran heist directors Quentin Tarantino and Guy Ritchie have a footprint of influence stamped on Noel Clark’s work as “4.3.2.1.’s” story brings a gumbo of thrills, storylines, and violence to the table. What makes “4.3.2.1.” stand out from its predecessors is that the central characters in the film are women.
The title “4.3.2.1.” is explained in the film’s tagline; 4 girls, 3 days, 2 cities, 1 chance, and mimics Tarantino’s “Reservoir Dogs” in its approach of telling the story. The film opens with a young woman standing on the ledge of a bridge over the River Thames, the face of Big Ben seen looking on in the distance. She looks down to a handful of diamonds she is clutching as she appears to be contemplating suicide. A timestamp on screen indicates this is Sunday night. As she appears to jump from the bridge, the story flashes back to a prior event; the girl from the ledge, Shannon (Ophelia Lovibond) is meeting three friends for breakfast. As each discusses their plans for the weekend, they are distracted by two local thugs, Dillon (Adam Deacon) and Smoothy (Ashley Thomas) who are being pursued by the authorities. The girls leave the diner together and hug goodbye on the street, a scene that will serve as the starting point for each of their respective story arcs.
The timestamp introduces Shannon on Friday morning as she arrives home to her mother in the process of leaving the family. TheTV in the background is running a story about a major heist that has just taken place with a dozen or so jewels valued at ten-million pounds (about $15 million U.S. dollars) having been stolen. We follow Shannon over the course of the next two days, learning she has recently had an abortion and feels that this, coupled with recent interactions with her friends, has branded her the outcast of the group. On Saturday night, she is attacked by a group of muggers but rescued by a beautiful and mysterious woman named Kelly (Michelle Ryan). Kelly brings Shannon to her flat so she can clean up and seems to be a genuinely good person – until she pulls a gun and demands Shannon hand over the stolen jewels. Of course, Shannon has no idea what Kelly is talking about and after a physical altercation manages to escape. The next day, she confronts her mother, and her mother’s lover, and becomes convinced the abortion is the reason her parents have split up. Distraught, she goes to the bridge to kill herself – the scene from the beginning.
The movie then rewinds (literally) back to the four friends as they separate outside the diner, and now tells the story of Cassandra (Tamsin Egerton) and her weekend. Cassandra comes from a highly affluent family and her story follows her as she boards a plane for New York to meet (and lose her virginity) to a man called Brett she has been communicating with online. On the flight she is seated next to a boisterous and garrulous man named Big Larry (Kevin Smith) who offers the apparently innocent young girl some worldly advice about not taking anything negative from others. Cassandra’s seemingly benign trip turns out to be anything but as a series of terrifying events unfold, and she discovers a single diamond mysteriously hidden in her purse.
We follow Cassandra until Sunday night at the bridge, when the film again rewinds to the diner and begins the story of Kerrys.
Kerrys (Shanika Warren-Markland) is the most outspoken member of the group and is involved in a sexual relationship with a striking woman named Jas (Susannah Fielding). As Kerrys is shunned by her conservative mixed racial family, she discovers her slimy half-brother Manuel (Gregg Chillin) may be involved in the diamond heist. As Kerrys story is taken to Sunday night at the bridge, the film rewinds for a final time to the departure scene outside of the diner.
The fourth and final weekend to unfold is of Joanne (the breathtakingly beautiful Emma Roberts). Joanne arrives home from the diner to discover her step-father has been injured and as such, she and her sister Gwen (Linzey Cocker) will have to pull more shifts at the 24-hour mini-mart they work at. Gwen has a date and begs Joanne to take the graveyard shift on Friday night, which she does. At the store, Joanne meets the dubious night manager Tee (played by director Noel Clark) and deduces he is up to some secretive and illicit behavior. Joanne ends up working again on Saturday and Sunday night, where the four isolated tales of the girls are finally joined together and the mystery of the stolen jewels is resolved. Joanne, now with Cassandra and Kerrys, is taken to the bridge scene that starts the movie
“4.3.2.1.” features sharp, quick paced scenes and is filmed with a sepia toned color that adds to its overall perfection. I’m a fan of movies told in flashback form, where plotlines and characters are interwoven together, and “4.3.2.1.” does a masterful job. Parts will play out that make no sense – until a different character is highlighted revealing or explaining something missed from before. The story bears numerous similarities to “Reservoir Dogs,” most notably the flashbacks of the four main characters leading up to the event at the beginning (even going so far as to identify the names on screen) but holds its own style and identity as well.
“4.3.2.1.” had an A going – until the very last scene (an obvious Hollywood-esque setup for a sequel), but all in all is a great film to view, and one with definite replay value.
