{London Boulevard opens in Seatte on Wednesday, 11/23 and is screening at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown through 12/1. Showtimes & tickets here.}

I'm not sure I ever would of thought of pairing Keira Knightly and Colin Farrell in a gritty British crime drama, but for whatever reason it totally works in London Boulevard.

Fresh out of prison, Mitchel (Farrell) gets recruited by friend Billy (an oily Ben Chaplin) to do some "jobs" with him around town – the only problem is that after doing time, Mitchel has lost the stomach for mob work. Offered a legitimate handyman/bodyguard job taking care of semi-crazy actress Charlotte (Knightley), Mitchel finds himself changing even more as he falls for her fragile gentleness.

But this isn't exactly a love story…kingpin Gant (a grizzled Ray Winstone) tries to recruit Mitchel as one of his soldiers, and becomes increasingly frustrated at his refusal to join in. Eventually the tension ramps up to a full-on war – one where it's hard to tell which of these badasses will win. To quote Farrell's character at the funeral of a friend, "We're all fucked." 

In addition to Knightly & Farrell doing a better job than I thought possible, the supporting casting is brilliant. I particularly enjoyed strong performances from David Thewlis as Charlotte's quirky caretaker Jordan, and Pushing Daisies' Anna Friel acting the hell out of her role as Mitchel's train wreck of a sister, Briony.

While there's nothing too deep going on in the script, it's a fairly entertaining ride – and one that manages to throw a few surprising punches. Thoroughly enjoyable, and well worth the ticket price.