Redemption to Be Found on, and in, 'London Boulevard'

There's a stylish new crime drama opening soon. It's called London Boulevard, and it's about a guy who's freshly out of prison, getting older and trying to make the right choices. When you consider that Colin Farrell plays the ex-con, it begins to feel a little like art imitating life.

Not that Farrell has actually been in prison. But to some degree, he has been in jail — movie jail, that is. When Farrell blasted onto the scene a little more than a decade ago as the Great Irish Hope, Hollywood did everything it could to make him a Star. And it should've worked. He's a talented, charismatic performer (though I think his eyebrows overact at times), but thanks to the vicissitudes of the movie biz, he never got that big hit necessary to launch him into the rarefied air he was expected to inhabit. And, on reflection, this might have been for the best.

Though Farrell never stopped working, it seems like he did stop playing the game and falling into the traps set for those that pursue film idol success. A few years ago, he stopped starring in product such as S.W.A.T. and Daredevil and began playing leading and supporting roles in smarter, smaller films like In Bruges, Ondine and Crazy Heart.

This shift in focus has led to a career renaissance for Farrell and allowed him to fulfill the promise shown in such early films as Tigerland and Minority Report. Sure, he still makes the occasional big film — the remakes of Fright Night and the upcoming Total Recall come to mind — but it feels like he's making them for fun, not for profit.

The most recent example of Farrell's fresh sensibility is London Boulevard, the noir-ish new flick from William Monahan. Based on the novel by Ken Bruen, London Boulevard is the story of a paranoid movie star, played by Keira Knightley, who hires Farrell's ex-con to be her bodyguard. Things become complicated when Farrell falls for his new boss. Things become even more complicated when Farrell's old pals pop up asking for favors he'd rather not grant.

Also appearing in the flick are Ray Winstone and David Thewlis, both members of contemporary British film royalty, as well as Anna Friel, Ben Chaplin and Eddie Marsan, who are no slouches themselves.

London Boulevard is the directing debut of Monahan, who's best known as the writer of Martin Scorsese's The Departed. The movie, which Monahan also wrote, was shot and opened last year in Britain, and IFC Films scored the U.S. distribution rights. The film hits theaters on November 11, but IFC has already made it available on video-on-demand.

The trailer for London Boulevard offers a little something for everyone. There's comedy, drama, violence and The Clash. And maybe — just maybe — the continued salvation of Colin Farrell.