Movie Review by Nigel A. Messenger
Starring: Minnie Driver, Mary McCormack, Mark Williams, Kevin Eldon, Kevin McNally
Director: Mel Smith
A light-hearted comedy about two women, Shannon (Minnie Driver), an English nurse whose only goal in life seems to be to help people and an American out of work actress, Frances (Mary McCormack).
One evening while listening to a radio scanner they accidentally hear a phone conversation between two criminals planning a robbery. They report it to the police, who don’t take them seriously. The next day the robbery is widely reported on the news and they decide to blackmail the criminals, demanding a cut of the money in return for their silence.
Meanwhile the police have no leads to follow except for a vague description of the two women. Meetings are arranged between the criminals and the women but they soon realise they are in over their heads, when rather than pay them, the criminals try to kill them.
HIGH HEELS AND LOW LIFES is an enjoyable, well produced film shot on location in London. Both Mary McCormack and Minnie Driver give good performances as do the rest of the cast and there’s a very funny joke running throughout the movie, as one of the two detectives assigned to the case seems primarily concerned with property prices at the scene of the crimes than with the actual crimes themselves. The film is never boring but although it is worth seeing it’s not at all memorable, it’s just a pleasant experience.
