Film review: Dom Hemingway - Jude Law's performance is engaging but not credible

Richard Shepard, 93 mins Starring: Jude Law, Richard E Grant, Emilia Clarke (15)

Dom Hemingway needs the indulgence of audiences. Its main character (Jude Law) is a roistering, working-class safecracker, just out of prison. He'll behave like a violent thug one moment and then embark on an obscenity-filled soliloquy (part Hamlet, part Derek and Clive) the next.

Law plays him in theatrical fashion. It's a tremendously engaging performance, albeit not one that is remotely credible. Richard Shepard's directorial style is erratic. His influences seem to range from blaxploitation to 1970s British sitcoms such as On the Buses and cult movies such as Withnail and I.

If you can overlook its many absurdities, though, this is still enjoyable fare. Shepard's writing is witty and you can't help but root for Law's Hemingway. In spite of his macho posturing and intimidating sideburns, he ultimately comes across as yet another in British cinema's long line of lovable losers.

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