Best Laid Plans
Best Laid Plans
| 03 February 2012 (USA)
Best Laid Plans Trailers

David Blair directs this powerful British Drama, loosely inspired by John Steinbeck's novel 'Of Mice and Men'. Set in Nottingham, the film revolves around the relationship between the thuggish Danny (Stephen Graham) and Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), a giant of a man with a mental age of seven. When Danny finds himself in debt to a local crime boss, he feels he is left with no choice but to manipulate Joseph into participating in a series of underground cage fights from which Danny can pay his debts.

Reviews
Dorathen Better Late Then Never
TeenzTen An action-packed slog
DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.
mraculeated The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.
bobmenfl-1 One can pay all the usual compliments to British Film Making e.g underplayed, gritty,thoughtful, etc. but I think this movie is exceptional. The story line is well crafted and the acting from all participants, is superb. The "Mentally Disabled" roles played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Maxine Peake are sensitively portrayed and Stephen Graham is,as always,brilliant! The fight scenes are particularly "Squirm Making"and the dreary Nottingham scenics were well chosen and cleverly filmed. I find it hard to believe that it only rates 6 on the IMDb site! Great work from you British Film Makers Keep'em coming!
riggabigg A really good movie .. The characters are 99% The script does not ruin it ..It's a really good performance .. The story is whole ....It kept me at least 99% through the whole movie...If the score is from 1 to 10 . i will give it about 8.4 .. but there are of course things u have to get by .. meaning ... slow beginning.. but the movie is great. I recommend it .....It is a movie about .. when men/women .. are faced with no choice at all
Gstephen70 Strong 8 vote from me. Strong performance by both lead actors. SG and AAA are cast well for the roles they are to play in this movie. Both roles are quite convincing. The drug-use and sleaziness is what makes it real. It's not a Hollywood blockbuster and shouldn't be viewed as such. If they spent 500,000 to make it, that would be a lot. But given the strong performances by all the actors, it deserves a watch. Enjoy. Well, IMDb says I have to have 10 lines so I will add the fighting was surprisingly real given AAA's size. As I doubt there was any stunt double for this, my hats off to AAA. Well done man. Another strong show. Wish we could hang. You must have some stories. OK. That's 10 lines. Have a nice day, and check this movie out.
wildsheep This really is very good but I think they've misjudged the trailer. This isn't really a gangster thriller or a fighting movie - it is actually a reimagining/reworking of Of Mice and Men.A petty criminal, Danny (Stephen Graham), cares for a giant of a man with learning difficulties, Joseph (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). When Danny gets in trouble with a local crime boss he persuades Joseph to take part in a series of illegal cage fights in order to pay off his debt. OK, so far it sounds like a gangster/fighting flick, I grant you, but what has been left out of the trailer is the sub plot about Joseph falling in love with a young woman, also with learning difficulties, played by Maxine Peake.I say 'learning difficulties' as I have no idea what the acceptable terminology is these days. Special needs? Luckily the film is down-to-earth and honest and doesn't pussyfoot around like I am. The characters speak as they would in real life, which does result in one very funny line which everyone in the audience laughed at but wouldn't dare repeat outside of the cinema*.The subplot is handled with skill and care. The actors all turn in fine performances, especially Stephen Graham as the quick-witted but ultimately self-destructive central character and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as the simple giant, Joseph. Their relationship, as you discover more and more about it, it utterly believable and is the central spine of the whole film. It's not a life changer but it is fine piece of work and well worth checking out if you get the chance.