Nemesis: Low-Grade British Gangster Saga Is a Cold and Tasteless Disappointment

By Thom Ernst

Rating: D-

In a recent interview, Nemesis producer and co-writer Jonathan Sothcott broke into a rant about England’s current climate of “snobby cinema.”  Sounds as if Sothcott keeps getting overlooked at the BAFTAs. 

But all is OK. Southcott assures us that he isn’t losing sleep over it.  Good thing. Because things aren’t going to get any better with Nemesis.

Nemesis is a low-grade gangster saga with a home-invasion twist and a cast that sounds like bigger stars from other movies:  Billy Murray, Nick Moran, and Bruce Payne (for all you Batman and Reuben fans).  

Payne, Bruce Payne, looking all gangster in Nemesis.

It’s hard to consider a scenario where Nemesis might work. 

Nemesis is unrecognizable as the thriller it proposes to be. And as a distraction, the movie is better equipped to induce boredom rather than disruptively grab your attention. 

I did consider how a piped-in laugh-track might help. But even as an unintentional comedy—which is the best the film can hope for—Nemesis falls short.  

Billy Murray stars as John Morgan, a former crime kingpin returning to his family home in London. Morgan is looking for a life change. Not that he has been gifted with wisdom and solace; he’s just an old dude who’s made enough money through questionable means and is ready to take up something more culturally refined like cribbage or bowling.  

Given that Nemesis is a British film, we must assume this is London, England. But with so few establishing shots, we could well be situated in any number of Londons from Arkansas to Kiribati.  

PROUDLY SUPPORTS ORIGINAL-CIN

Nemesis is not a film served by location.  While exterior scenes are vague and uninteresting, interior scenes have the welcoming atmosphere of a vacant office building.  It would not seem out of place if a security guard were to show up ask them to move along.

Eventually, Nemesis does deliver on the film’s tagline, promising “Betrayal, Revenge, and Murder.” Dirty deeds are done—all at once and in quick order—but they arrive as a cold and tasteless disappointment.

Mostly tasteless. 

Much can be said about the third act’s dive into Greek tragedy before slipping into a Twilight Zone ending. But evidence of the film’s most damning moments is also the film’s most significant reveal.  So, to expand on that thought would be to break no-spoiler etiquette. 

Nemesis has no cap on bad ideas - from Sadie Morgan’s (Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott) incomprehensible nude scene to imposing a psychotic cackle to add menace to an otherwise traumatized mental patient.  

Perhaps director James Crow is having us on. Maybe Nemesis is not the scaled-down gangster thriller he wants us to believe. Maybe somehow—albeit unintentionally—Crow has made a satire, an achievement considering how difficult it is to do an intentional parody. 

But it’s unlikely Nemesis was ever meant to be anything than a solid, entertaining British gangster flick filled with intrigue, suspense, and surprises.  

At least it succeeds at being British - minus anything to be snobby about.. 

Nemesis. Directed by James Crow. Starring Billy Murray, Nick Moran, and Jeanine Nerissa Sothcott.  Nemesis begins on July 30 on VOD and other streaming platforms.