Rough Cut

A special investigator from NewYork tracks down dealers in synthetic diamonds operating in the south of France.

The publicity notes for Rough Cut, a presentation from Carey Films, confirm that it is the fourth feature from former banking professional Owen Carey Jones and that in each case he was writer, producer and director. That should stand for something, but it doesn’t seem to do so.

A standard, traditional plot-line has an American investigator who works for the diamond industry looking into a death in Yorkshire and tracking down crooks dealing in synthetic diamonds from a base in France at Port Grimaud. There is little that is new here and nothing that convinces given the banal dialogue (mainly in English despite the French setting) and the mediocre acting. By way of a sub-plot there is a youthful romance between an English girl and a French boy, the latter played by Matt Gras who probably gives the best performance (but that is not saying much). The crime story is made graphic by having a secondary female character available for rape, torture and ultimate death, while the romance is spiced up by an incest theme from which the film ultimately backs away.

At least there is footage in colour from the Bay of St. Tropez, but the cheapness of this production is self-evident (one of the most unintentionally comic moments is supplied by an attempt to persuade us that one brief scene took actors to Moscow). The poor dialogue does nevertheless achieve authenticity once: that is when one of the characters observes that she can’t believe that all of this is happening. Having viewed Rough Cut through innocent eyes, I looked up its predecessor, The Spell (2009), and found that my colleague, George Savvides, reviewing it in the 66th edition of Film Review annual, had written “Avoid this at all costs”. No change there then.

MANSEL STIMPSON

Cast: Stanley J. Browne, Angelique Joan, Matt Gras, Darren Day, Michel Benizri, David Coburn, Melissa Sirol, Michèle Belgrand-Hodgson, Vanessa Seydoux.

Dir Owen Carey Jones, Pro Owen Carey Jones, Neil Harrison and Melinda Humphrey, Screenplay Owen Carey Jones, Ph Ryan Kennedy, Pro Des Eileen Aldous, Music Emma White, Costumes Eileen Aldous.

Riviera Films-Carey Films.
109 mins. UK. 2015. Rel: 16 October 2015. Cert. 15.