Spivs

Even Stephen Frears almost came a cropper when he inserted a clumsy gangster angle into 'Dirty Pretty Things', his examination of the lives of illegal immigrants in London. But Frears was at least more concerned with immigrants than crime. The reverse is true here as Jack (Ken Stott is forced to question his life of con artistry when his life of petty crime leads him to a gang of people smugglers, leaving him as the guardian of a pair of terrified eastern European children. Teague's attempt to lend gravitas to what is just another crime caper is hard to swallow. The heart of the film lies more in Paul Kaye's sometimes funny turn as a sidekick and Jack Dee's more restrained performance as an unwitting victim. Comedy cameos and desperate refugees make for a sour-tasting cocktail.