Starring: Rhys Ifans, David Thewlis, Chloe Sevigny, Omid Djalili THIS film was always going to be a question of balancing on a moral tightrope. Do you portray Howard Marks, a renowned drug smuggler from Wales, as a fun character, getting into scrapes and making customs officials and the police look rather amateurish, or do you show him as someone who consorted with the IRA, made a fortune selling drugs and whose health fell apart while in a US prison. Mr Nice attempts both and gets the balance just about right. Ifans is in his element as the real-life character Marks who at one stage was being hunted by numerous law enforcement groups, plus the IRA. It’s the kind of meaty role any actor would dream of. David Thewlis is also excellent as the Irish Republican Army man Jim McCann, voicing his hatred of the British but with a penchant for porn and drugs. There are other solid supporting roles and even a cameo from director Ken Russell, though Sevigny as Marks’ wife has a slightly strange accent at times. Parts of the film use original footage from the 60s and 70s with Ifans superimposed which works really well and gives a strong sense of the period. There’s also a great soundtrack with the likes of early Pink Floyd to get you in the mood. All of this doesn’t hide the plain fact that, whatever your opinion on ‘soft’ drug use, Marks constantly broke the law and made piles of illegal money from his action. The latter part of the film shows he suffered for his crimes but you still come out of the cinema thinking he was a likeable lad. three out of five stars Steve Payne
