Shiner

Synopsis: After a life on the boxing promotion fringe, Billy "Shiner" Simpson (Michael Caine) has finally hit the big-time. His son Eddie is to fight for a world title in London. No detail is left to chance in preparation for the great day. Except the one where the police charge him with murder two hours before the fight is due to start.

Shiner was made in 2000. The distributors may have been dragging their chains ever since looking for an appropriate time and place to open it. I’d have thought it would do quite nicely as the teaser on a 5 fight card at the Preston Workingman’s Club. It is after all a film about boxing - sort of. More accurately it’s a film about Michael Caine’s dubious ability to carry ordinary movies.

We begin with Caine lording it over his two sycophantic offsiders, Mel (Andy Serkis) and Stoney (Frank Harper). Then on to the fight stadium (I truly believe a world-title fight would take place in a dingy, flea-infested, double-storey Mechanics Hall and I hope you will too), where Eddie "Golden Boy" Simpson is to do battle with an American fighter. Eddie (Matthew Marsden) resembles a boxer like Mike Tyson does a munchkin. Still, what are you gonna do in a character-driven tale? At the stadium Caine lords it some more, insulting press, staff, organisers, the opposing camp headed up by Frank Spedding (a competent if confused-looking Martin Landau) and anyone else he comes into contact with. He even has some poor slob’s arm broken as payback for not recruiting quality boxers for the underbill. Boxing’s all about violence, see?

Lording is Caine’s shtick in Shiner. He throws his loveable, larrikin, cockney angst at all and sundry. Trouble is we neither care for the clichéd characters he lords over, nor do we care for any of the situations that arise as Billy manoeuvres and manipulates himself into and out of clinches with the law, his associates and his miserable, quibbling family.

Director John Irvinhas attempted to capture the grit and grime of the fight game in the style of Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels but misses by a long way. Shiner lacks any sense of charm or tension – qualities Guy Ritchie's film had in spades. For the most part this is a dull film with the odd spike of nasty humour and violence.

 

 

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