Down Terrace

In this British dramedy about the disintegration of a family of small-time crooks, Karl (co-writer Robin Hill) and his father Bill (Robin's real-life dad, Robert) come home from prison to find their drug-distribution operation endangered by a rumored informant (their inept attempts to identify the traitor lead to several killings). Meanwhile, Karl takes up again with a pregnant ex-girlfriend, leading Bill and his hard-bitten wife Maggie (Julia Deakin) to question the boy's judgment. Hill and director/co-writer Ben Wheatley try to infuse the film with black humor, getting some mileage out of the aging Bill's obsession with his past glories. But there's a slapdash quality to Down Terrace, reflected in dialogue that often sounds badly improvised, while the violence isn't stylized enough to make it distinctive. And even though Deakin and the elder Hill deliver strong performances, the rest of the cast are barely above amateur level. Optional. (F. Swietek)