Pusher

While aesthetically incomparable to its down-and-dirty Danish original, Luis Prieto’s pumped-up British neo-noir “Pusher” is the most slavishly loyal remake to come along in quite some time. Based on the edgy 1996 cult thriller of the same name directed by then-unknown debut filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn, Prieto’s English-language redo (which is exec produced by Refn) is faithful to a fault. Structurally identical to and often word-for-word exactly the same as Refn’s original screenplay, this unashamed cinematic copycat would be a truly superfluous exercise in mimicry if it weren’t for the heart-racing kineticism and ferocious viscerality injected into its veins.

Crucially, this neon-lit retooling relocates Refn’s Copenhagen-set story to an East London well-traversed by Guy Ritchie and co, yet again shown to be a place of cockney gangster lowlifes, bustling nightclubs and skull-cracking public beatings. Mixed up in this world is Frank (Richard Coyle, “W.E.”), a small-time drug pusher whose no-nonsense attitude towards his profession is an irritant to jittery clients short on their payment. He shares a glamorous lifestyle of clubbing and coke-snorting with Tony (possible “Inbetweeners" candidate Bronson Webb), his brattish mop-head partner in crime, and Flo (model-turned-actress Agyness Deyn), his pole dancing girlfriend with a heart of solid gold.

Speaking of which, when a golden money-making opportunity falls onto his lap out of thin air, Frank fails to realise that the five-figure deal is too good to be true. The secret trade-off goes pear-shaped when the boys in blue turn up, forcing Frank to dump a bag of coke into a nearby duck pond before being mercilessly interrogated by peanut-flinging plainclothes officers for 24 hours straight. Upon his return to base with neither the gear nor the dosh in hand, Frank’s story is met with fierce skepticism by his supplier, the initially jovial Serbian kingpin Milo (a truly frightening Zlatko Buric, reprising his role from Refn’s original), who believes every word to be a lie. Frank is delivered an ultimatum: either he pay Milo back every penny within the next 48 hours, or else.

A frantic race against time is set in motion, as a cash-strapped Frank runs about the English capital, attempting to collect £55,000 before it’s game over for him and his kneecaps. The pulse-pounding electric soundtrack (featuring original tracks by British band Orbital) is a perfect match for Frank’s rib-shattering heart rate as the clock ticks away and the stakes climb higher, and as Frank is forced to perform unspeakable acts in the name of saving his own life, a life which he becomes more and more aware is vapid and hollow.

An effective scene of sustained suspense sees him crashing the house party of a slimy client (Paul Kaye, ”Anuvahood”) whilst wielding a pistol in each hand, intending on emptying the man’s private safe. This scene is scored to Still Going’s remix of Austra’s “Beat and the Pulse," the thumping theme song from the film’s riveting trailer. It is the style of “Pusher” that is integral to its success, with Prieto curiously channeling not Refn’s debut but the film that rose Refn to international fame: super-stylish, existential B-movie “Drive,” which boasts one of the finest soundtracks in recent memory.

Also integral is Coyle, once a sitcom star in Steven Moffat’s “Coupling” and now a tough-nut leading man. The Sheffield-born actor is more lean and athletic than Kim Bodnia, the short-tempered mad dog Frank of Refn’s film. This is a more reserved Frank, intimidating through a quiet intensity, a fierce determination and an undeniable skill concerning a baseball bat and a man’s decreasingly recognisable face. Coyle portrays the same sense of mounting, sweaty-browed desperation that Bodnia portrayed so convincingly in ‘96; he does so with escalating despair, a fervid ferocity and the slightest hint of growing lunacy.

The film leaves no room for doubt as to the sheer odiousness of its characters. These are scumbags, people who actively take part in a world of inevitable violence, deceit, torture, paranoia and substance abuse. Frank is not a good man; indeed, he is more than capable of bludgeoning his best friend into a bloody pulp without a moment’s thought, and then refusing to apologise afterwards. But Coyle is such a captivating screen presence that we feel sympathy for Frank when he is unexpectedly hurled face-first into shit creak with such tiny paddles to row him back to safety. He may be a scumbag, but he’s one who’s been dealt a severe injustice, and, simply put, that’s just not on.

“Pusher" is not as hard-hitting as its original: it’s missing the blunt rawness that made Refn’s film so bitingly intense, and its gritty East End setting is all too familiar. But it is stimulating adult entertainment and an above-average London gangster flick elevated by a gripping leading performance and a visual and aural aesthetic that simulates something akin to an adrenaline rush. Fans of the ‘96 version are sure to be irked by the frequent repetition of its scenes and dialogue, while “Pusher” newcomers can just sit back and enjoy the rapidly escalating violence.

7/10