Essex Boys is a 2000 British crime film. It was directed by Terry Winsor and stars Sean Bean, Alex Kingston, Tom Wilkinson, Charlie Creed-Miles and Holly Davidson.
Contents
Plot
The film is based loosely around events in December 1995 that culminated in the Rettendon murders of three drug dealers in the village of Rettendon in Essex, England.
Cast
Charlie Creed-Miles as Billy Reynolds/narrator
Sean Bean as Jason Locke
Gareth Milne as Chippy
Alex Kingston as Lisa Locke
Amelia Lowdell as Nicole
Larry Lamb as Peter Chase
Michael McKell as Wayne Lovell
Holly Davidson as Suzy Welch
Terence Rigby as Henry Hobbs
Tom Wilkinson as John Dyke
Billy Murray as Perry Elley
George Jackos as Kiri Christos
Sally Hurst as Beverley
Louise Landon as Jemma
Gary Love as Detective
Rachel Darling as Club dancer
Trevor Kirton as Man on street #1
Carl Smith as Man on street #2
Production
The film was shot on location around Essex. In particular Southend-on-Sea, Jaywick, near Clacton-on-Sea, and the Dartford Crossing, where the gang travels from Kent to Essex.
Reception
The film met with generally negative critical reviews, maintaining a 17% rating at Rotten Tomatoes based on six reviews.
It opened on 54 screens in the United Kingdom on 14 July 2000 and grossed £111,548 in its opening weekend, finishing ninth at the UK box office.
Similar films
The films Rise of the Footsoldier (2007), Bonded by Blood (2010), The Fall of the Essex Boys (2013), Essex Boys Retribution (2013), Essex Boys Law of Survival (2015) and The Essex Boys Tapes (2024) are also based – to varying degrees – on the Rettendon murders.