Premise - Cockney life long criminal, Wilson (Terence Stamp) hears of his daughter’s death in Los Angeles. He jets out to LA, but discovers that there may be more to his daughters death than a simple accident and takes matters into his own hands to put things right.

To watch The Limey is to watch an acting masterclass by one of the UK’s finest actors, Terence Stamp. A quick look at Stamp’s page on the IMDB sees a myriad of wide and varied roles in movies like ‘Wall Street’, ‘Superman’ and ‘Priscilla, Queen of the Desert’. I haven’t seen a lot of Stamp’s early work, but I have seen most of his modern output and I would put The Limey right at the top of that work. The raw power and emotion that Stamp exudes in this film is unparalleled by anything else that I’ve seen him do.

Stamp’s Wilson, the Limey of the title is not necessarily a bad man. Yes, he has spent most of his life in jail for varying crimes, armed robbery being his specialty. But, he loved his family dearly and did everything within his power to provide for them. The only difference is that from his world view that meant picking up a gun and robbing the box office at a Pink Floyd concert rather than going out and getting a job. The emotion, the anger, the love that comes from Stamps face during the movie is astounding; that we root for him during the film, regardless of his actions is testament to the quality of Stamp’s performance.

Keep an eye out for the flashbacks to Wilson’s life in the 60’s. Initially I thought they had just found a really good double for a young Terence Stamp, but Soderbergh borrowed the footage from an old Stamp film called ‘Poor Cow’. The footage fits in amazingly well and adds to the films impressive visual style.

The rest of the cast in The Limey are also of a very high standard. For starters you have Soderbergh favourite Luis Guzman. Guzman is flat out one of the finest supporting actors in Hollywood today, you only have to look down his list of work to see the kind of quality that he regularly outputs. Sure, he’s never going to be a leading man, but if you want an intense character actor who can bring a nice bit of lightness to a role then look no further than The Guzman.

In this film he acts as Wilson’s chauffeur and friend. He was in prison previously, but has turned his life around for the sake of his family, exactly what Wilson could not do. He was Wilson’s daughter’s friend through an acting class and points Wilson in the right direction for clues that might get him closer to her killer. Guzman is great here and uses his adept comedic ability to raise a few laughs trying to decipher Wilson’s non-stop tirade of Cockney rhyming slang.

Peter Fonda plays Terry Valentine a big record producer from the 60’s that now has to supplement his income through less legitimate means. He is a man who remembers the 60’s fondly and has refused to grow up in many ways, not least in his penchant for much younger women, among them Wilson’s daughter. It’s not hard to see why they hired Fonda for this role, he wrote and starred in Easy Rider and clearly has a great affinity for the era. Also, his bronzed youthful look is perfect for the faded shadow of a man that is Valentine.

Elsewhere you have Lesley Ann Warren as another friend of Wilson’s daughter that helps him find her killer. Warren is another capable actress and comes over well. I also liked a young actor that plays a Hit-man called Nicky Katt. I remember him from Dazed & Confused and a few other films as well. He has a very distinctive look and brings something different to a role. Keep an eye out for Predator star Bill Duke in an un-credited role, as a geek it’s always nice to see him in movies.

If all this talk has you thinking that The Limey is merely a show of quality acting with little else to offer then you are sorely mistaken. Steven Soderbergh is a consummate auteur and his films always have a stunning look to them, the limey is no exception. For the most part Soderbergh uses handheld cameras and stedi-cams, putting the viewer right in the heart of the movie. The film has lots of close-ups and has some ingenious use of long shots. The Limey has a very distinct editing style using small flashbacks, flash forwards and merging dialogue from previous and future scenes into current scenes. At times it can be confusing, but once the film finishes it all falls into place and works brilliantly.

The Limey is something of a forgotten gem, coming as it did off the back of Soderbergh’s monster hit Out of Sight it was somewhat overshadowed. This is a real crime as The Limey is a fantastic film in it’s own right, that deserves to be seen by a wider audience. Blackly comedic, but incredibly poignant with knockout performances and a stunning visual style, The Limey is one to seek out.