The Hatton Garden Job

The Hatton Garden Job
UK DVD Cover
Directed by	Ronnie Thompson
Screenplay by	Ray Bogdanovich Dean Lines
Produced by	Ben Jacques
Starring	Larry Lamb Matthew Goode Joely Richardson
Cinematography	Arthur Mulhern
Edited by	Emma Gaffney
Music by	Duncan Forbes Lol Hammond Andrew Barnabas Paul Arnold
Production company	Fiction Films
Distributed by	Signature Entertainment
Release date	14 April 2017(2017-04-14)
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United Kingdom

The Hatton Garden Job,also known asOne Last Heist,is a 2017 Britishcrime film.The film is a dramatization ofreal-life events in April 2015,when the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company, based underground in theHatton Gardenarea of central London, was burgled by four elderly men, all experienced thieves. The film was directed by Ronnie Thompsonand starsLarry Lamb,Matthew Goode,andJoely Richardson.

The film had itsWest End of Londonpremièreat theCurzon,Shaftesbury Avenue,on 11 April 2017.

Outline

Larry Lambplays the 76-year-oldBrian Reader,taking the lead among the four "codgers" who carry out the operation, with the title of Guvnor, while the other three at the sharp end of the raid are Danny Jones (Phil Daniels), Terry Perkins (David Calder), and Kenny Collins (Clive Russell).Apart from more routine thievery going back at least to his first conviction in 1975, Reader had previously laundered the proceeds of theBrink's-Mat robberyof 1983. The burglars enter the underground premises over an Easterbank holidayweekend through a lift shaft, then drill through the thick walls of the vault with an industrial power drill, proceeding over the following two days to rifle through dozens of deposit boxes. The burglar alarm goes off, but the police decide not to attend. The robbery remains undetected until staff return to work the following week, and newspapers are soon calling it the biggest theft in English history, as the total stolen has a reported value of up to £200 million — although the gang of seven (who have a combined age of 448) don't believe it.

Matthew Goodeplays the organiser of the robbery, known only as XXX, whileJoely Richardsonis Erzebet Zslondos, a glamorous Hungarian mobster who is pulling the strings, complete with an exotic accent and remarkable set of costumes.A subplot centres on Zslondos and a corrupt ex-policeman, DCI Frank Baskin (Mark Harris).

After an efficiently carried-out operation, the haul is divvied up, theFlying Squadof theMetropolitan Police( "the Sweeney" ) is called in, led by DCI Emma Carter (Sarah-Jane Crawford), and the insurers offer rewards for leads to crack the crime. Six weeks later, acting on information received, nine men are arrested, including Reader. Later, four other men are pulled in and charged with conspiracy to commit burglary. They then face the challenge of what (if anything) to say under questioning and the dilemma of whether to reveal the hiding places of the missing loot. Almost a year after they hit Hatton Garden, all but one of the men are found guilty and go to prison, Reader getting six years. Most do not take up the offer of shorter sentences for returning millions still unrecovered.

The leader, referred to in the film as "XXX", escapes justice — which at the time of shooting matched the story of the real-life Michael Seed (known as 'Basil').Seed was later found guilty of both burglary and conspiracy to burgle, and was sentenced to ten years in prison for the former and eight years for the latter, the two running concurrently.

Cast

• Matthew Goodeas "XXX"
• Larry Lambas Brian Reader
• Joely Richardsonas Erzebet Zslondos
• Stephen Moyeras Marcus Ford
• Warren Brownas Trotter
• Clive Russellas Kenny Collins
• Phil Danielsas Danny Jones
• David Calderas Terry Perkins
• Jack Doolanas Judas-Jack
• Sarah-Jane Crawfordas Detective Chief Inspector Emma Carter
• Tony Fadil as Police Officer
• John Alfordas Prison Guard
• Craig Russellas Prison Officer
• Mark Harris as DCI Frank Baskin
• Sam Adewunmias Isaac
• John Bagenal as Carl Doyle
• Duncan Casey as David
• David Garlick as Paul Reader
• David Goodman as Zoltan
• Connor Heath as Freddie
• James Helder as Kelvin

Production

It was announced in June 2016 that Larry Lamb, Matthew Goode, Joely Richardson, and Phil Daniels had taken leading roles in the low budget film.

Reception

On review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes,the film holds an approval rating of 18% based on reviews from 17 critics, with an average rating of 3.90/10.

In negative reviewsThe Guardiancalled the film "a piece of geezer nostalgia" with a "wocka-wockaretro-funkscore ", but suggested that Phil Daniels might deserve an award for uttering the line “the biggest bling blag in history”.It also took the view that the film failed to keep faith with its grey power ethos by parachuting in an attractive young leader for the much older gang (Matthew Goode), who was simply an invention.

The Daily Telegraphdeemed the film aGuy Ritchiepastiche and commented that "This is entirely, even aggressively un-cinematic, and after a while begins to feel like a bizarre,Brechtianjoke at the audience’s expense: vast expanses of the film are, quite literally, just boring. "Metro's review found the production slow andclichédand suggested that "this is a film that ultimately proves to be every bit as opportunistic as the raid that initially inspired it."

The film magazineEmpirewas more positive,

The film is not without charm, thanks to engaging lead performances from a roster of solid British talent, from Larry Lamb to Phil Daniels, who can do lovable-rogue banter in their sleep. Early scenes of them plotting the heist are enjoyable if not exactly fresh, several exchanges raising a smile. Despite their best efforts, however, the film falters thanks to an inescapable fact... it’s all a little dull.

See also

• Hatton Garden: the Heist– an earlier film released in 2016 based on the robbery
• King of Thieves– a 2018 film also based on the same events
• Heist film

External links

• The Hatton Garden JobatIMDb
• The Hatton Garden Job — Official TraileronYouTube