''Complicity'' (or ''Retribution'' in the US market) is a 2000 film based on the 1993 novel ''

Complicity Complicity is the participation in a completed criminal act of an accomplice, a partner in the crime who aids or encourages ( abets) other perpetrators of that crime, and who shared with them an intent to act to complete the crime.''Criminal Law ...

'' by

Iain Banks Iain Banks (16 February 1954 – 9 June 2013) was a Scottish author, writing mainstream fiction as Iain Banks and science fiction as Iain M. Banks, adding the initial of his adopted middle name Menzies (). After the success of ''The Wasp Factor ...

. The screenplay was written by

Bryan Elsley Bryan Elsley (born 17 May 1961 in Dalkeith, Midlothian) is a Scottish television writer, best known for the co-creation of E4 teen drama '' Skins'' with his son, Jamie Brittain. Other television dramas include ''Rose and Maloney'', '' The Young ...

, and directed by

Gavin Millar Gavin Millar (11 January 1938 – 20 April 2022) was a Scottish film director, critic and television presenter. Biography Millar was born in Clydebank, near Glasgow, the son of Tom Millar and his wife Rita (née Osborne). The family relocated ...

. Both had previously adapted Banks's ''

The Crow Road ''The Crow Road'' is a novel by the Scottish writer Iain Banks, published in 1992. Plot introduction The novel describes Prentice McHoan's preoccupation with death, sex, his relationship with his father, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, a mis ...

'' into a

TV serial In television program, television and radio programming, a serial is a show that has a continuing plot that unfolds in a sequential episode-by-episode fashion. Serials typically follow main story arcs that span entire television seasons or even t ...

. The film marked the debut of Richard Madden.

Plot

Idealistic Scottish journalist Cameron Colley (Jonny Lee Miller) writes articles exposing establishment corruption. When some of those named in his articles are found brutally murdered, suspicion falls on him; and he is forced to begin an investigation to clear his name.

Cast

Locations

Scenes were filmed in Edinburgh and the

Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is the estuary, or firth, of several Scottish rivers including the River Forth. It meets the North Sea with Fife on the north coast and Lothian on the south. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate of ''fjord'', a Norse word meani ...

(particularly

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an impo ...

South Queensferry Queensferry, also called South Queensferry or simply "The Ferry", is a town to the west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Traditionally a royal burgh of West Lothian, it is administered by the City of Edinburgh council area. It lies ten miles to the nort ...

, and

Inchmickery Inchmickery is a small island in the Firth of Forth in Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh. Its name comes from the Scottish Gaelic, ''Innis nam Biocaire'', meaning ''Isle of the Vicars'', implying that there may have been an old ecclesi ...

), and in Dunning, Glenturret,

Kippen Kippen is a village in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. It lies between the Gargunnock Hills and the Fintry Hills and overlooks the River Forth, Carse of Forth to the north. The village is west of Stirling and north of Glasgow. It is south-east ...

Lochgoilhead Lochgoilhead ( gd, Ceann Loch Goibhle, IPA: �kʰʲaun̴̪ˈɫ̪ɔxˈkɤilə is a village on the Cowal peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, Scottish Highlands. It is located within the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park and is widely consider ...

Lochailort Lochailort ( , gd, Ceann Loch Ailleart) is a hamlet in Scotland that lies at the head of Loch Ailort, a sea loch, on the junction of the Road to the Isles ( A830) between Fort William and Mallaig with the A861 towards Salen and Strontian. It ...

Glen Coe Glen Coe ( gd, Gleann Comhann ) is a glen of volcanic origins, in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies in the north of the county of Argyll, close to the border with the historic province of Lochaber, within the modern council area of Highland ...

, and on

Rannoch Moor Rannoch Moor (, gd, Mòinteach Raineach/Raithneach) is an expanse of around of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, where it extends from and into westerly Perth and Kinross, northerly Lochaber (in Highland), and the area of ...

. One scene from the film was set in the Snaffle Bit bar in

Sauchiehall Street Sauchiehall Street () is one of the main shopping streets in the Glasgow city centre, city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, Glasgow, Argyle Street. Although commonly associated with the city centre, Sau ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, where actual bar staff and customers were used.

Critical reception

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...

'' wrote, "It says a lot about the British film industry that dross like ''

Rancid Aluminium ''Rancid Aluminium'' is a 2000 film, based on a 1998 novel of the same name by James Hawes. It was released on 21 January 2000 to universally negative reviews, and is considered one of the worst films of all time. Cast *Rhys Ifans *Joseph Fienn ...

'' commands a wide theatrical release, while this sensitively judged adaptation of Iain Banks' best novel goes straight to video...although it packs a little too much into its 99 minutes, it has clearly been made with love, as well as respect for the source material". Ian Nathan of ''

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

'' awarded it three stars out of five, saying "the sombre mood fits perfectly, Miller is good, and on the whole this is nasty enough to provoke. But it also offers nothing new. It is far too tentative in the violence department and therefore doesn't hang around long in the memory." He concluded that it was "low-key but not uninteresting." Lorien Haynes of ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...

'' awarded it one star out of five, stating "You'd be better off going back to Iain Banks's original novel than waste your time with this convoluted and unsatisfactory adaptation." Haynes regarded Jonny Lee Miller as "endlessly bland", director Gavin Millar "all at sea" and the "excellent" Keeley Hawes as "wasted".

References

External links

Details of locations used in filming ''Complicity''
* {{Gavin Millar 2000 films 2000 drama films 2000 independent films Scottish films English-language Scottish films British drama films Films shot in Edinburgh Films shot in Fife Films based on British novels British independent films Films directed by Gavin Millar Scottish drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films