MovieChat Forums > London to Brighton (2006) Discussion > Stoners can still call the Police ya kno...

Stoners can still call the Police ya know

posted 17 years ago by nibblitz
24 replies | jump to latest

** SPOILER **

At the flat in Brighton, after brandishing a Shotgun in their faces he tells all the Stoners to leave.... But, not one of them went and called the Police ???? And then out in the street, guy still brandishing the Shotgun and shouting his head off, a little girl crying and screaming, the woman being bashed about and dragged along, and then they're being bundled in the boot of the car, but nobody, not one person in the street, nobody peeking out their Windows... Nahhhh... silly scene...

It was a good movie, but the above things Ive mentioned did make it seem like a bit of a dumb writing...

[–] Cybrbeast 17 years ago

I totally agree. That scene was ridiculous. they should have kept the stoners locked up in the house, could've also made for some interesting dialogue, which was a bit lacking in this film.
Overall still a good film though.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] tom-1514 17 years ago

that was the only part of the film that niggled me, .. I'm thinking "There gonna call the Police now" .. and later that night "Why is he brandishing a shotgun, and shouting, whilst putting 2 women in a boot".. other than that, it was a totally awesome film, very realistic, acting spot on. Definatly one of the best films i've seen in months ... and its British! Highly disturbing though.

[–] edrisi 17 years ago

There are countless occassions when people walk past a violent fight- even a murder- and do nothing.

Women are raped on trains and no-one pulls the cord or does anything .

If everyone in Bighton- where I live- called the police every time things " got a bit lively" there'd be no police left to go out anycase.

And then there's "artistic license".

And if you are in a house full of drugs and junkies you just might not want to alert the boys in blue to your presence- "er officer I'm stoned out of my tree but could you please pop over -there's some chaps making a frightful noise in the street- ta ever so - pop in for a spliff after why don't you".

[–] raykeith30 17 years ago

Whenever I see any reviews or forums on this film, this is the one bit that everyone complains about: "surely they would have called the police, wouldn't they?"

Who's to say they didn't? After Chum herds them upstairs and into one of the bedrooms, he and Derek don't actually hang around that long. They're only there for as long as Chum takes to make everyone a cup of tea, then Derek is called back by Stuart and given some instructions and they're away. This scene seems longer than it is because it is punctuated by another flashback scene. After they've left the house, the stoners, probably frightened half to death, need to be sure they're definitely gone before they phone anyone (they also need to clear away all their drugs, if they're thinking clearly).

Once Derek and Chum are outside the house, it takes them about a minute to bundle the girls in the boot of the car. Some neighbours might be disturbed and might call the police at this point, but how fast do people think the police respond in this country? I called the police a couple of years ago after my neighbour was car-jacked in our street, they showed up 3 hours later, by which time the carjackers were probably in another county.

[–] tim-whitwell 17 years ago

I can see both sides of the argument here, but I'll admit after watching the film yesterday I'm browsing these boards looking for a 'why didn't they call the police' thread. If Derek and Chum had at least threatened to kill the girls (or even the fleeing stoners) if the police were called then this scene would be far more believable. Good movie, but this scene should have been handled differently imo. Obviously, there are aguments for both sides here, but if, as the previous poster suggested, *everyone* complains that the police weren't called, it has to be seen as a flaw. If they'd tied this up properly there would be no complaints and people like me could concentrate on how good the rest of the film was.

[–] 17 years ago

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[–] serghe 17 years ago

The moral to all this is to not befriend stoners. A lesson we could all use.

[–] Sir_Anonymity 17 years ago

I guess the stoners didnt want to police around at their house finding all their drugs just over some girl they hardly know.

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Please tell me you are not waving your hand in front of my face.

[–] neil7908 15 years ago

Thats a really good point, I thought the same as everyone else (why not call the cops?) but what your saying makes a lot of sense in the context, especially with the bit on the street when they were gone very quickly.

Would also point out like other posters have that you might be fearing for your life if you grass up a bunch of gangsters with shotguns - they do know where you live afterall!

Also, some people are just very selfish. Cases like Kitty Genovese show how cold people can be and as the stoners didnt really know them that well, plus the drugs, they may just have decided to let it all go and not risk their own safety/freedom.

[–] cyberbaboon 17 years ago

i live in brighton too, and i know for a fact that the area that scene is filmed would have had the police there in about ten minutes if someone was waving a shotgun round and throwing a kid in a carboot. this isn't the bronx mate.

sure people walk past a fight on a friday night on west street, but armed kidnap on a quiet middle class residential street during the day?

also, artistic licence doesn't really come into it when you are making a 'gritty realism' film like this.

[–] Mystikal_Spirit 16 years ago

It wasn't during the day, it was in the nightime

[–] tribek 16 years ago

Grassing up serious gangsters (Ones that run around with pump-action shotguns no less) is a sure way of getting yourself killed!!
The people in the Brighton house are hardly model Citizens (prostitution, drugs, etc etc) and are no doubt fully aware on how the underworld works. ie if you grass your as good as dead!!

No flaw here what-so-ever imho.

I do however agree that they could have made the scene of them bundling them into the car a bit more realistic by making them a tad more aware and concerned of their environment, ie been a bit quieter and hidden the shotgun.

Still I think the film was great and up their with other British classics like Shane Meadows Dead Mans Shoes, highly recommended :-)

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] chrcoluk 13 years ago

my thought is if someone with a gun let me go then it means they prepared to let me live and I am grateful for it. If I ring the police and they ever find out they then have a reason to kill me. So it was probably them been selfish and grateful they got out alive.

[–] TheSummer2012 13 years ago

I also thought this scene was unrealistic. Of course they would have called the police.
As another poster has pointed out, this is not the Bronx, this is Brighton. Yes, they did have some weed lying around but if two guys come in with a shotgun, then they'd definitely would have called the police.

[–] sweetasanutmoosh 17 years ago

Yeah, that niggled me too.

But I didn't let it ruin my apreciation of the film.

"Jing Jing"

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[–] maxcooter 15 years ago

I didn't think that this scene was unrealistic at all. Stoners don't tend to see police as their friends and they certainly wouldn't want to mess with gangsters. My take on it is that they'd vanish and come back when the coast was clear.

The bit I DID think was unrealistic though was the one where Kelly left her phone behind and didn't go back to get it. She knew that a gangster was trying to get hold of her, would she really be happy to leave a phone in a house full of stoners knowing that anyone of them could answer it and tell the crooks where they were? But, as my wife pointed out, if she hadn't done that, there wouldn't have been a movie as there's no way that the gangsters would have traced them.

Still, good film though - and another one that portrays the seamy side of my home town.

[–] stevegreen999 15 years ago

I completely agree with the idea of this thread. It was a great film but they definatley would have called the police.

The people in the flat werent hardened criminals, it immediately reminded me of many student houses ive been in! They wouldnt have been put off calling the police just because there was a but of weed lying around (theyd only get a caution) when theyd been threatened by two nutters with a shotgun who was after one of their mates. They must have waited there for a minimum of an hour even though they drove a bit to meet up with the gangsters. If they called the police theyd turn up pretty sharpish for armed men holding two women hostage! Also agree neighbours would have seen/heard a man waving a shotgun and forcing them into the boot of a car.

[–] Dubl_A 15 years ago

ha ha! my thoughts exactly. i guess you just can't rely on stoners in a crisis...

[–] jackhunt 15 years ago

Right I call the police to investigate two very dangerous and violent men in my house - where I live. Therefore any other dangerous men associated with these two will also eventually get to know where I live and may well be very angry at grassing their mates up. Why take a chance with your life over a situation you know nothing about and which has nothing to do with you?

You also don't know the background of the 'stoners', they may very well have good reason not to call the police.

As for shouting in the street. Someone may have called the police - so what? They were too late and didn't find them.