Shannon (Minnie Driver) is a overworked, underpaid nurse at one of London's busier emergency rooms. She lives with her boyfriend, who is more interested in turning mobile phone converstations into 'sound sculptures' than being with her. Frances (Mary McCormack) is a struggling American actress; unemployed and being passed over for such jobs such as the voice over for an animated, foreign tomato. Shannon and Frances are best friends living in London. One evening, Shannon and Frances overhear a mobile-phone conversation between gang members involved in a bank heist in their neighborhood. When the police pay no attention to their repoirt, the duo decides to extort money from the criminals not to reveal their identities to the police. But, they are unprepared for the underworld that they are disembarking toward and for criminals who would rather kill than part with money.
The fast-moving script allows the audience to escape into the plot without thinking too much about the believability of the circumstances or characters. Driver and McCormack manage to lend some dimension to their characters. The are sassy and determined, but definately not superheros. Mark Williams and Kevin Eldon have an almost show stealing quality with their impact as the inept cops. The mobsters are played by Kevin McNally and Michael Gambon (who is clearly having fun as a sleazy gangster).
High Heels is one of those movies that allows audiences to sit back and enjoy an hour and half of action and laughs. It uses the classic recipe of the silly shoot-em-up; start with a sassy (but clueless) pair of heroines, add in two bumbling cops, toss in some suitably nasty villians, mix well and film. Some will pan this movie as a paint-by-numbers production and not very English (in the manner of Notting Hill), but High Heels and Low Lifes will give the audience some good giggles with its well-put-together set pieces.
Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)