Life can be a matter of margin calls – and for troubled Danny, determined to make it back into the world of the City, life deals punches as hard as they come in Mark Hampton‘s new British indie UNLICENSED.
Hampton is a multi-hyphenate on this production, leading as Danny Goode, who gained a notoriety as head of ‘The Breakfast Club’ , in which the level of alcohol was equal to the targets that Canary Wharf’s finest – Danny included – were great at. Danny is also a habitual gambling junkie who feels the lure and pinch of the bet as much as he ever did.
However, the price is steep and the height from which one falls is much steeper – which led Danny to a three year stint in the can, missing out on parental duties and a resentful ex-wife (Chloe, played by Sarah Diamond) and son who wants to bond with him. Turning up with old mate Jon (Mark Tunstall) at Danny’s old boxing gym where he helps train aspiring Rockys is the first step, but Danny wants more, particularly to help gain favour with his family. Jon offers him a new first rung as part of his restaurant staff as a busboy – and an invitation to watch one of Jon’s proteges battle it out with tough pug Nicky Miller (Jack Newhouse).
Things get complicated with Nicky comes in to celebrate his 10k win at Jon’s restaurant, goading and teasing Jon with the lack of evident competition from his muse who didn’t last too long on the canvas. Things hit a new gear when Nicky tries to get a date out of one of the waitresses and Danny steps in, challenging Nicky to an upcoming shot at a new prize fight.
A guaranteed pot against the current winner is something that does seem to be more than irresistible for Danny, who wants nothing more than to take his son on a flight to paradise…
Pretty much every single underdog and troubled protagonist film set against the backdrop of a sports context can be glimpsed here in a film that combines elements of CINDERELLA MAN, THE FULL MONTY, MARGIN CALL, MILLION DOLLAR BABY, MONA LISA and the Stallone legend, infused with a little bit of Guy Ritchie here and there.
Empathy and sympathy are on call in equal measures here in this micro-budget indie that proves once again that you can achieve a lot with so little, coupled with the opportunity to achieve above and beyond your means.
Hampton does a competent job with a fine debut here which, if you can look beyond some of the predictable elements of storytelling, hits the right emotional pressure points. It’s well edited and paced and taps into the empathetic elements that all audiences like with this type of genre-based film.
UNLICENSED opers the October Edition of London Independent Film Festival 2025 on October 3rd. The festival runs until 12th October 2025.
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