Hummingbird (film)

Hummingbird
UK theatrical release poster
Directed by	Steven Knight
Written by	Steven Knight
Produced by	Guy Heeley Paul Webster
Starring	Jason Statham Agata Buzek
Cinematography	Chris Menges
Edited by	Valerio Bonelli
Music by	Dario Marianelli
Production companies	IM Global Shoebox Films
Distributed by	Lionsgate Roadside Attractions
Release date	17 May 2013 (2013-05-17)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	$12.6 million

Hummingbird (released as Redemption in the United States) is a 2013 British-American action drama film written and directed by Steven Knight, in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Jason Statham as an alcoholic veteran haunted by his war crimes; he befriends a Catholic nun, becomes involved in organised crime, and takes revenge on a man who beats and kills prostitutes.

Plot

Joseph Smith, a fugitive ex-Special Forces soldier and a homeless drunk in London, is attacked and chased by a group of thugs one night, and finds himself breaking into an apartment. Learning that the owner, a successful photographer named Damon, won't return till the first of October, Joseph starts squatting there and assumes a new identity, calling himself Joey Jones and using Damon's resources while looking for his homeless friend Isabel who been coerced into becoming a prostitute by the same gang that attacked him. Joey is friends with Sister Cristina, a Polish nun who runs the local soup kitchen, and helps him with antibiotics for the wounds he received in the fight with the thugs and information on Isabel's whereabouts. To deflect suspicion of Damon's neighbors, he tells them that he is Damon's boyfriend and starts working at a Chinese restaurant. One night at work, when some rowdy diners cause a scene, Joey fights them off outside the restaurant. His fighting skills impress the senior manager Mr. Choy, who is connected to a London Chinese organised crime syndicate; he hires Joey as a driver and enforcer, tasked with collecting extorted payments and delivering drugs. He saves some of the money he receives and begins ordering pizzas for the homeless at the soup kitchen and buying gifts for Cristina. He finds Dawn, his ex and mother of his young daughter, and gives her some money.

Joey learns from Cristina about Isabel's murder as she hands him over photographs of her corpse in the river. An enraged Joey confronts the same thugs who beat him up earlier, and through interrogation acquires a rough description of the killer. In order to pass on the information to Cristina, Joey invites her to an art gallery where she gets drunk, opens up to him and reveals she used the money given by him to buy tickets for a ballet set to happen on the same date as Damon's scheduled return. Joey, on the other hand, violently attacks a restaurant owner to extract money. Learning of this, the police question Cristina who lies to them. While driving her home, Joey learns she was sexually abused as a kid by her gymnastics instructor due to which she killed him. Being too young, she was sent to a convent instead of prison. Feeling distracted due to her relationship with Joey, she asks for a transfer to Africa. Mr. Choy's boss helps Joey track down the killer in exchange for driving a truck containing boxes of Chinese people being smuggled into the UK. Joey finds out about the killer named Max Forrester, a man who assaults prostitutes, through an invitation to a rooftop cocktail party on the first of October, provided by a prostitute.

On the first of October, Cristina tells Joey she will soon leave for Africa and the two consummate their relationship as Damon returns. Fleeing through the fire escape with Joey, Cristina invites him to the ballet. Joey delivers a bag full of money to his ex and daughter along with his photos, and goes to the rooftop cocktail party where he kills Max by throwing him down the building. Joey runs away and is found sleeping near a curb by Cristina after the ballet ends. Waking up, Joey reveals he's on the run from a court martial for random revenge killings he carried out in Afghanistan for the deaths of five of his men, who were slaughtered in front of him in their armored vehicle. He often has random hallucinations of the men he killed and of "hummingbirds", the aerial drones in Afghanistan. The next day, Cristina receives a note from Joey while leaving for Africa. It reveals Joey paid his debts to everyone including Damon, has informed the police about Mr. Choy's human trafficking operation, and would now disappear into the streets once again. As a drunk Joey walks into the streets, he is being pursued by the police with the help of the drones similar to the "Hummingbird".

Cast

• Jason Statham as Joseph Smith/Joey Jones, an ex-special forces soldier
• Agata Buzek as Sister Cristina, a young nun
• Christian Brassington as Max Forrester, a murderous city boy
• Vicky McClure as Dawn
• Benedict Wong as Mr Choy
• Ger Ryan as Mother Superior
• Victoria Bewick as Isabel
• Sang Lui as Tony
• Lillie Buttery as young Cristina
• Youssef Kerkour as Bouzanis
• Danny Webb as Damon
• Dai Bradley as Billy
• Bruce Wang as Tim
• Siobhan Hewlett as Tracey
• Steven Beard as Karl

Production

Hummingbird was almost entirely filmed at night. Filming sites included popular streets for homeless people, some of whom were involved in the shoot. Statham stated that before filming started some research was undertaken into the mental health issues of his character, including ex-servicemen asked about their experiences.

The Dartford Crossing is featured in Hummingbird twice – when Joey drives a van across the bridge and when a lorry approaches the toll. The area around the Covent Garden Market was featured in several scenes. Among the buildings used was St Paul's and Royal Opera House.

The sound track features "Malka Moma", a Bulgarian folk style song, with lyrics and music by Neli Andreeva and Georgi Genov. The song is performed by the Bulgarian National Folk Ensemble "Philip Koutev". Neli Andreeva, choirmaster with the ensemble, is the soloist.

Release

Hummingbird was released in the United Kingdom, the United States (as Redemption) and France (as Crazy Joe) on 28 June 2013.

Reception

Based on 50 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes gives a score of 50% with an average rating of 5.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "While it certainly has more on its mind than the average Jason Statham action thriller, Redemption doesn't quite capitalize on its premise – or on its star's strong, committed performance." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 43 out of 100 based on 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

See also

• List of films featuring drones

External links

• Hummingbird at IMDb
• Hummingbird at Box Office Mojo
• Hummingbird at Metacritic
• Hummingbird at Rotten Tomatoes