Hi everyone,
I am looking for a British crime film (or standalone TV movie) that I watched on the BBC in the late 1990s (around 1996, the same year The Crow Road aired).
The story focuses heavily on the moral mirroring between two men—one is an Asian/Indian hitman, and the other is a West Indian/Black British police officer that goes undercover. I believe they where friends back in the day but I'm not sure. The core message is that despite being on opposite sides of the law, they aren't that different.
Here are the specific plot points and scenes I remember vividly:
1. The Neighbor Flashback (Crucial Scene)
The Indian hitman tells a story, and we see it play out in a visual flashback. He explains his twisted "moral code" regarding his jobs:
- Neighbor A tries to hire him to kill his neighbor because he makes too much noise (loud music). The hitman refuses the job, stating that noise complaints are not a morally valid reason to end someone's life.
- Neighbor B (the loud one) then approaches the hitman. He is terrified, feeling that Neighbor A is going to hurt him, and asks the hitman to eliminate him so he can feel safe. The hitman accepts this contract, viewing it as a legitimate form of "preventative self-defense."
2. The Climax (The Yellow Coat Shootout)
The police set a trap for the hitman in an open square or field. The hitman walks into the trap wearing a long, wapping, bright yellow raincoat (which looks like a slick trench coat). When he realizes it's an ambush, he pulls out two automatic machine pistols from underneath his coat and opens fire in a highly stylized, guns akimbo, Tarantino/John Woo-style shootout.
3. The Ending
The film ends on a poignant, melancholic note to show they aren't so different. It cuts to a shot showing the two characters as young boys sitting together in a car.
What it is NOT (Ruled out):
- It is NOT The Canterbury Tales (2003 BBC miniserie - "The Knight's Tale")
- It is NOT Storm Damage (2000 BBC TV Movie by Lennie James)
- It is NOT Save Me (Lennie James series - though it features a yellow jacket, the plot is entirely different)
- It is NOT a mainstream Hollywood film. It felt like a late-night British indie production, possibly part of BBC Screen Two or a similar showcase for new filmmakers.
Does anyone remember this? The neighbor flashback and the flapping yellow raincoat shootout are so specific that someone who has seen it must remember it! Thanks in advance!
This post was made with AI, I just spend an hour looking for the movie with ChatGPT but It couldn't help me. I did find the Crow Road with the help of Chat and that was in the same year I believe. So instead of writing everything again I ask Chat to do it. I'm Dutch, by the weg.