Apparently director Nick Love tirelessly traced down hundreds of items of 80’s casual gear for his film the Business. And the collection of windcheaters, tracksuits and the like are very impressive in The Business. Unfortunately this tale of 1980’s Costa Del Crime shenanigans misses on nearly every other level. An attempt to chart the rise and fall of Frankie, a shyish Peckham ne’erdowell it flounders by extracting all charisma or likeability out of its characters and leaving you hoping they all die. From the moment Danny Dyer’s Frankie batters his stepdads head in, til the bit where he shoots his girlfriend, you never really warm to him. And consider, he is supposed to be the nice one.
Love’s staggering collection of casual gear therefore is probably bound for his own wardrobe (except the ones used in the open sewer fight – nasty). What is worse, there is a vague feeling that the whole film is a set up for a very lame gag. Namely in the end titles, where we find out what happened to all the characters it claims, bare-facedly, that Frankie Went To Hollywood. Love probably won’t be for a while.