Swapna Prabhakaran: Movie of the week
In Shooting Fish, a cheeky British version of the American Dream, Dylan (Dan Futterman) and Jez (Stuart Townsend) are down-but-not-out unemployed twentysomethings who dream of owning a mansion and a million pounds each. In the meanwhile, they live in squalor inside a huge old gas tank, furnished with various bits and pieces nicked from rubbish dumps.
Instead of sitting around and wallowing in depression at their misfortunes la Brassed Off, these two set out to make their dream come true. They use every scam and scheme possible – cutting corners, shirking responsibility and generally conning their way to fabulous wealth (all in neatly piled 50 notes).
Jez, a boffin who has the technical wizardry of the 1990s at his fingertips, thinks up the scams. Dylan, a smooth-talker too handsome for his own good, is the frontman who carries out the scams, wheedling the rich into parting with their 50 notes.
Once they’ve started they find it’s easier than shooting fish in a barrel. Their intentions may not be entirely admirable, but they do have their own strict code of ethics – they only prey on those who can afford it and “never cheat an honest person”. A gullible, sweet old grandmother who scrapes together 50 for them is “a thin fish” and gets to keep her money.
Their Robin Hood tactics seem to be going well, until they meet a spiky-haired angel-faced girl, Georgie (Kate Beckinsale), who trips them up. Once she figures out their ploys, she goes all out to beat them at their own game. She has her own reasons for wanting a million pounds and far fewer scruples about how she’ll get it.
From here on the narrative gallops full pace over a truly British landscape of humour, irony and gentle romance. It is headed for cult status, not only for its finger at the establishment, but for its funky soundtrack, put together by the same people who compiled the madly popular Trainspotting score.
Shooting Fish adeptly manages to tell a whopping good story with humour and depth, never losing one’s attention. The quirky characters, their bad haircuts and almost-rave wardrobes and the cave-like home, make this a visually interesting movie – worth watching twice.