I think the writer and producer and director are largely at fault here. Script development and appreciation of source material is so poor and shows that it takes great skill to convert a novel to the screen. Too many assumptions are made, that the viewer will know the world into which we descend. Far too much inappropriate swearing by actors who look lost and vague, with those who are chain smoking clearly I'll at ease with the poisonous habit and as such fail to convince us that they are real smokers so it creates scenes that look incongruous nay ridiculous. The plotting is clumsy and laborious. The photography/ lighting is reasonably well done, but spoiled by the rest of the ingredients. It doesn't look like much money was spent on the production, which is probably a blessing for the tax payers, but really the whole thing shouldn't have been given the go ahead.
Review of The City and the City
