So derivative that it almost qualifies as a type of financial instrument, this crime thriller is clearly investing in its own future as a low-budget franchise, given how sequel-friendly it leaves the conclusion. Much will depend on whether viewers take to its titular heroine, scrappy Londoner Scarlett Monaghan (Charlotte Kirk). Our leggy heroine graduates from minor crimes such as pickpocketing drunks to more advanced forms of larceny when she hooks up with mid-level gangster Robert (Philip Winchester), whom she describes in voiceover as the love of her life. That assertion isn’t all that convincing given how little chemistry there is between the two leads, but who are we to question the feelings of fictional characters?
At least there is no need to ponder too long on the authenticity of their affection once the locus of action shifts to photogenic Tenerife in the Canary Islands where poor old Robert reaps the whirlwind of his criminal career. This leaves Scarlett, now nicknamed Duchess, as per the title, to do revenge stuff that involves lots of montages and bantering with her inherited crew of perps, members of Rob’s gang. One is played by director Neil Marshall’s frequent collaborator Sean Pertwee, who appeared in Marshall’s Dog Soldiers and Doomsday and seems sanguine about passing the leading baton to Marshall’s new muse.
Kirk is certainly very competent when it comes to giving fierce in closeup shots amid the fisticuffs, and looks good in Lycra. But the character never feels much more than an aggregate of traits that readers of men’s magazines like in a lady, including a Cool Girl aptitude for video games, sexual voraciousness and the ability to not have cellulite. Even Kirk’s range of facial expression seems limited mostly to sneers and advertising-copy sunny smiles. Marshall goes big on the use of freeze-frames, onscreen graphics deployed when introducing characters, and wink-wink meta jokes, all of which feel pretty tired and early noughties British crime drama by this point. The only thing that’s missing is Vinnie Jones, but perhaps he will be the bad guy in the sequel.
• Duchess is in UK cinemas from 9 August and on digital platforms from 12 August.
