Film / News
Ben Wheatley comes to Bristol
High-Rise, Sightseers and Kill List director Ben Wheatley comes to the Watershed on Wednesday, February 8, for a Q&A session after a preview of his eagerly anticipated new crime drama, Free Fire, which opens nationwide on March 31.
Executive produced by Martin Scorsese, this is a ’70s set shootout flick that is impossible to review without mentioning Reservoir Dogs, largely because of its setting and constant wisecracking – though Wheatley has said he was chiefly inspired by Sam Peckinpah. Oscar-winning Room star Brie Larson plays Justine, who brokers a meeting between two wary parties in an abandoned Boston warehouse. A pair of IRA men (Cillian Murphy, Michael Smiley) are here to buy a huge cache of weapons from a South African arms dealer (Sharlto Copley) and his stoner frontman (Armie Hammer). But when a longstanding feud erupts between trigger-happy minor goons (Sam Riley, Jack Reynor), a bloody great shoot-out ensues.
There’s a local angle too, as the film is scored by Portishead’s Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, who did such excellent work on Ex Machina. Oddly, however, the trailers released so far feature the ace vintage hard rock of bonkers Trump supporter Ted Nugent (Stranglehold and the apt Free For All, fact fans).
This one’s bound to sell out quickly, so grab advance tickets here.