sirfire Finally a movie that doesn't spell it out in plane words so the intelligent can watch without feeling that the director was being condescending, while it has it flaws it leaves you coming to your own conclusions and that seems to be the problem with other reviews. I can honestly say due to meeting highly intelligent people that they can be self destructive to a point where they are about to touch infinite success only to destroy it with their own hands. This to me was the point of the whole story and while some of the business processes are clearly flawed if you can get over the details you can see how the story makes its point. The acting was good (especially Damian Lewis and Jodhi May) however a lot more could have been done to expand the characters around them so that the story was smoother or more understanding, the problem is that the movie would be too long and if it made you feel uncomfortable it wouldn't have made a difference. I guess you need to have experienced something similar to relate to this story perhaps just friends who you meet every now and then.The Metaphor of the crocodile was obvious to some but clearly missed by many to explain the story and i guess I'm happy that this is the case ;) Worth watching sure it has flaws and if you want a thinking movie that explores the eighties and nineties and have a friend who is on the road to self destruction you will perhaps even understand it.

peter-c-booth One of th finest modern dramas enabling world class participants to push at the envelope at all stages of the play. Tha great bard would have been proud. Underlying the glorious production were performances of breathtaking beauty and honesty from the two leading players. Jodhi in particular played the sexually charged and profoundly confused "innocent" perfectly. The bubbling sexual tension brought the viewer closer to the set at every scene and created an atmosphere of chaos that was always fulfilled but in an unexpected way. In many ways it stands along side a modern day recreation of the Government Inspector (or perhaps a Comedy or Errors), a production that effortlessly achieves its goal of taking apart the pillars of accepted society and replaces them with an almost innocence of child like hope and opportunism (tinged with some unwanted and unforeseen brutality). A worlds class production. Well done to all involved.

Steve Borley 'Friends & Crocodiles' is an ambitious, layered delight. A strong cast - in particular Jodhi May and Damian Lewis as leads Liz and Paul -breathe real life into Poliakoff's rangy and challenging drama.The story takes the audience through the relationship of Liz and Paul from an odd 70s beginning to a late 90s acceptance; a relationship that is never allowed to resort to a sexual connection and as such remains an ambiguous and mature exploration of a relationship between two intelligent but differently wired people.As the characters develop, Paul slips further and further from the successful property magnate he is at the start, whilst Liz becomes ever more successful and senior in the glittering 80s and 90s economy. Whilst Paul remains, or certainly seems to, carefree Liz seems stuck in a vortex of misfortune that lead her to taste success before disaster ensues.Poliakoff's eye for social historic detail is an ever-present theme throughout - he introduces mobile phones and PC and then the dot.com bubble. But this is not mere showing off, or 'B' movie-style signposting of time and place. Instead this changing technology takes us towards the finale where Liz's grand job at a large multinational turns to ashes as the headlong race to become a dot.com destroys her firm, it's employees and investors and ultimately (almost) Liz herself.Poliakoff's theme is that of the danger of herd thinking; of assuming new is always better. Liz's fall from grace looks obvious to us in 2006 as we all wonder at the hysteria of the dot.com bubble. But back then it was a heresy to doubt the 'new paradigm'. The target is spot on, and well made - Paul, of course, reads the runes rather well - especially with his strategy paper as a futurologist. But such is the nature of the way their relationship has matured over the years there is no bitter pay-off of clunky 'just deserts' denouement. Poliakoff's characters are too well-rounded for that to have been possible.'Friends & Crocodiles' is a well-paced, thematically-rich drama that is funny, challenging and wise. The main characters begin and remain charming, sympathetic and worthy of the audience's empathy. That is a testament to the script, direction and performances. As with 'The Lost Prince', Poliakoff's last effort, he reminds the audience that quality and entertainment are not mutually exclusive - and that the multi-channel environment of the 21st century does not mean the demise of truly superb television.

Rich (freeboprich-1) This is most definitely one of the most affecting dramas I have seen in the past year, both casting and the expertise of the setting and prop crew were flawless. Honestly, I might be credulous, but the intended chronology of the film was exceptionally convincing, it did to an extent make me wish that more detail had been shown about the in-between periods that the narration had passed by, the characters were so intense that I felt pulled in by their stories and anything could have been relevant. It goes without saying that as a fan of Jodhi May as well as of the creator, I had been looking forward to this for some time and there was no disappointment apart from what I already mentioned. On the whole there's more in the way of emotional turbulence than joyful interludes, but the overall message is delightful and has effected me profoundly. My thanks to all involved.