Written and directed by Antonio Simoncini, Lords of London explores family ties and loyalties tested.  The thriller takes place in the dark city of London and exotic Italy with lush sunsets and beautiful, colorful landscapes. Ray Winstone (Snow White and the Huntsman) is billed as the star of the movie, but he is not in the film all that much. Glen Murphy and Giovanni Capalbo (The Passion of the Christ) are the real stars of the movie, while introducing Cassius Terence Murphy.

On the Internet, the reviews aren’t all that great, but the movie won Best Film at Italy’s Abruzzo Film Festival and the New York Hell’s Kitchen Film Festival World Cinema.

We follow London gangster Tony Lord, whom Murphy believably plays. Lord is the son of the notoriously ruthless Terry Lord, played very well by Winstone, a typical role you will see in other movies like The Departed.  He is a natural gangster, as shown in flashbacks, and is not in the film all that much. The story centers on his son, Tony, who must confront his father’s past. We see his father being violent and abusive toward his son.  The scenes work in the film because they build the overall tension of the storyline.

All in all, Simoncini crafts a well-honed movie through the film’s editing. He cuts from the present to the past, which is very effective as the story unfolds.