The climax of this lean, taut thriller is as direct and devastating as the rest of the film. It’s a blistering debut.

| Mar 12, 2025

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 17, 2011

| Original Score: C+ | Sep 7, 2011

Its tautness is satisfying. Not one line of dialogue is superfluous, not one take is a second too long.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Apr 18, 2008

From the near-hysteria of this compelling opening sequence, Paul Andrew Williams's taut, tough and thoroughly satisfying drama grips the viewer and never lets go until its brutal, surprising conclusion.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 18, 2008

A gritty British gangster film that leaves a bitter aftertaste, Paul Andrew Williams' London to Brighton is as technically assured as it is ultimately superfluous.

Full Review | Feb 20, 2008

The film is a calling card for its sure-handed rookie director, Paul Andrew Williams, who expertly turns up the suspense knob while establishing a thick sense of doom amid grimy settings.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 8, 2008

Very good but very grim, Paul Andrew Williams' punishing debut doesn't pull many punches -- although the characters certainly field their share of body blows.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 8, 2008

I'm not entirely sure what [director Williams] was trying to pull off in London to Brighton or even if Mr. Williams knew what he was trying to pull off.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Feb 8, 2008

The debut feature of writer-director Paul Andrew Williams is a grim, efficient affair.

| Feb 5, 2008

Spit-polished with Greengrassian artistic din, London to Brighton is kitchen-sink realism without soul.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Jan 29, 2008

With plenty of chutzpah, the young British film-maker Paul Andrew Williams has written and directed a cracking debut feature with enough clout to kick the door in.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jan 27, 2007

Maybe the ending's a bit excessive, but it's hard to overstate the excitement of seeing fresh British talent break through with such energy.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 30, 2006

British urban crime movie that is several cuts above the rest.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 30, 2006

After a promising start, the film becomes less about the experience of an archetypal runaway and more about exploiting terror for big-screen thrills.

| Nov 29, 2006

A technically impressive first feature that leaves an empty taste in the mouth.

| Sep 16, 2006