| The 51st State | |
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Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Ronny Yu |
| Produced by | David Pupkewitz Malcolm Kohll Andras Hamori Mark Aldridge |
| Written by | Stel Pavlou |
| Starring | Samuel L. Jackson Robert Carlyle Emily Mortimer Meat Loaf |
| Cinematography | Poon Hang-Sang |
| Distributed by | Momentum Pictures (UK) Screen Gems (US) Alliance Atlantis (Canada) Paramount Pictures (Australia) |
| Release date(s) | December 7, 2001 |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | U.K |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $27,000,000[1][2] |
| Box office | $14,439,698[2] |
The 51st State (also known as Formula 51) is a 2001 British action comedy film[3] written by Stel Pavlou and directed by Ronny Yu. Produced by Focus Films Ltd. (UK).[4] The film stars Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Carlyle, Emily Mortimer, Ricky Tomlinson, Sean Pertwee, Rhys Ifans and Meat Loaf. The film follows the story of a American master chemist (Jackson) who heads to England to sell his formula for a powerful new drug. All does not go as planned and soon becomes entangled in a web of deceit.
Premiered in the United Kingdom on 07 December 2001, the film grossed £913,239 in its opening week and made worldwide profits of $14.4 million. It received mixed reviews from critics, and the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes' compiled ratings give the film a below average rating of 25 out of 100. The 51 State was ranked 171st on the list of highest grossing films of 2002.
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The film begins in the year 1971. Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson), a new college graduate with a degree in pharmacology, is caught smoking marijuana when a patrolman pulls over his car. Because of his arrest and conviction, he is unable to find work as a pharmacologist. The film then fast forwards to the present day as a drug lord called "the Lizard" (Meat Loaf) calls a meeting with his organization, hoping to sell a brand new substance invented by McElroy. The meeting goes awry when McElroy, in a bid to escape from the Lizard's control, blows up the building, killing everyone but the Lizard, who falls through the floor. With revenge on his mind, the Lizard contacts Dakota (Emily Mortimer), a contract killer, who killed the only witness in a case against the Lizard, as depicted in several early scenes in the movie. Dakota initially refuses to chase down and kill McElroy, but when the Lizard offers to clear her gambling debts and give her a $250,000 bonus to complete the hit, Dakota takes the job.
McElroy heads for Liverpool where he has a deal arranged. At the airport he is met by Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle), an ex-hitman who has been sent by his boss Leopold Durant (Ricky Tomlinson), head of a local criminal organization, in exchange for two football tickets to the sold-out Liverpool versus Manchester United game.
At the meeting, McElroy makes his pitch, claiming that his product, POS 51, a synthetic drug that can be produced with minimal facilities, is 51 times as potent as ecstacy, opiates, amphetamines, and cocaine. A second opinion from a local chemist confirms McElroy's claims and Durant gives him over a million dollars in bonds. Since it is 18 million dollars short of the agreed payment, McElroy starts to leave.
Meanwhile, in a room across the street, Dakota is watching through a rifle scope, waiting for her chance to kill McElroy, but Felix DeSouza keeps getting in the way. As she is about to pull the trigger, the Lizard calls, now being concerned about keeping McElroy alive until he can get the formula. Instead of killing McElroy, she is to kill anyone who is meeting with him. She switches rifles to an automatic weapon and kills everyone in the room except DeSouza and McElroy. Escaping with McElroy, DeSouza is shot in the rear by Dakota, who remarks, "That's for getting in the way". As McElroy and DeSouza leave the hotel, the two are attacked by a gang of skinheads, who are also out to get the drug. McElroy makes short work of them with his golf clubs.
Detective Virgil Kane (Sean Pertwee) arrives on the scene and gives chase. He is soon lured into a game of chicken by McElroy, who escapes. Kane returns to the crime scene and strings up Durant on the bottom of a large cargo container. He demands 50 percent of Durant's deal with McElroy. A miscommunication leads to the cargo container being dropped, rather than being lowered slowly, crushing and killing Durant in the process.
McElroy asks DeSouza to contact the next drug lord in town, who is a gun dealing club owner and drug distributor named Iki (Rhys Ifans), promising him his formula for £20 million. McElroy and DeSouza make their way to a chemist (drug store) to get the ingredients for POS 51. One of the drug's defining attributes is that it can be made with over-the-counter products, none of which yet appear on any government's banned substance list. They are followed by the skinheads, who are armed this time. McElroy isn't that dismayed at being captured, as the skinheads claim they have a lab to produce the drug. The lab turns out to be an Animal Testing Facility that the skinheads have broken into. McElroy makes two batches of the drug; one blue and one red. He claims that the red pill is the stronger version, and after he takes one, the skinheads try it. While they are partying, waiting for the effect of the drug, in the next room McElroy spits out his red pill. He relates to DeSouza that its primary effect is that of a powerful laxative, which should take effect any moment. McElroy and DeSouza leave after throwing some rolls of toilet paper to the screaming skinheads, who are writhing on the floor.
The two visit Iki's rave club, where McElroy initiates his deal with the raver king and delivers the drug to the waiting crowd. The distribution is interrupted by Kane and a police raid. Dakota appears, and it is revealed that her real name is Dawn and that she and DeSouza were romantically involved. She captures McElroy and attempts to leave with him via the roof and the escape ladder. McElroy drops, twists, and grabs her, suspending her over the edge of the roof. Having no choice, she strikes a deal with him and they escape.
Meanwhile, DeSouza is in police custody, being interviewed by Kane. The dirty cop wants in on their deal with Iki or he will get DeSouza on charges of possession of a firearm. He arranges the time and the place, letting Kane know.
Meeting back up with McElroy and Dawn, they contact Iki. The venue is the Liverpool vs. Manchester United game, in a private viewing box. This time the deal is interrupted by the Lizard, who kills Iki and demands the formula to POS 51. The Lizard celebrates with a drink, as McElroy reveals the true nature of the drug - it's a placebo and the ingredients cancel each other out, making it the "most expensive candy" in the world. McElroy tells the Lizard that POS stands for Power of Suggestion.
Kane interrupts the moment, just as McElroy's cocktail, ingested by the Lizard, takes effect. The cocktail contains a chemical that becomes explosive when it reaches a certain temperature; this is the same chemical McElroy used in his earlier attempt to leave his employment with the Lizard. Pulling an umbrella from McElroy's golf bag, DeSouza, McElroy, and Dawn take cover behind it. Police arrive and arrest Kane, who is lying half conscious on the floor, covered in bloody bits of the Lizard. Having made their escape, the three divide the money. During the credits, a putt falls in a hole. McElroy is playing golf in front of the castle (filmed at Cholmondeley, Cheshire) seen on the card pinned to the Lizard's lab wall in the beginning of the film (the same card with the formula burned by McElroy in the skybox). The castle is the home of the McElroy clan.
The final scene has Elmo finishing a round of golf with Hector Dougal McElroy, who Elmo reveals is a descendant of the same family that once owned Elmo's ancestors. Elmo now owns the McElroy castle, and as he walks towards it, he strips naked and says "Elmo is in the house!"
Rest of cast in order of appearance:
The DVD commentary reveals that the script was originally written with Laurence Fishburne in mind, sometime before Samuel L. Jackson became a star.
Screenwriter Stel Pavlou came up with the idea for The 51st State in 1994 while studying at college in Liverpool, loosely basing some of the characters on his friends. Pavlou described the idea of the movie being based on Liverpool's history in the slave trade and transferring it to modern day in the form of the drug trade. Pavlou and his business partner Mark Aldridge showcased their idea at the Cannes Film Festival in France which lead to film development company Focus Films offering funding for development. Soon the movie caught the eye of Samuel L. Jackson, who eventually came on board as both a producer and star of the film.[5]
Originally Pavlou budgeted the movie at around £1 million and intended to direct it himself. Due to difficulty getting funding Pavlou stepped aside and took a co-producer credit while the matter was being resolved. Following a long five-year haul, "The 51st State" was finally budgeted at $28 million, with financing coming from Canada and the UK via Alliance Atlantis and The Film Consortium.[6]
Movie star and film producer Samuel L. Jackson recommended Hong Kong director Ronny Yu to direct the film with belief that the movie's overall style was suited to that of Yu's previous movie credits such as his 1998 film Bride of Chucky. With the roles of Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson) and Felix DeSouza (Robert Carlyle) both secured, producer Andras Hamori suggested Meat Loaf to play the bad guy which was approved by director Yu who called the idea a "truly inspired piece of casting".[6]
Almost all of the movie was filmed on location in Liverpool apart from the opening scene which was shot in Los Angeles, a driving scene which was filmed outside of Liverpool in the city of Manchester, and another scene which was filmed at Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire. Major locations used in Liverpool included the River Mersey and docks, Pier Head, the India Building, Water Street as well as Liverpool Football Club's stadium Anfield. Other famous Liverpool landmarks can be seen throughout the movie in the background such as St George's Hall and the Liver Building.
Production designer Alan Macdonald used the film's production base in Boundary Street to build various sets for interior scenes, as well as a vast disused warehouse space in Blackstock Street.
The movie was released on both VHS and DVD. The DVD version was released on 7 Oct 2002 with special features including Audio Commentary, Making Of, Production, Photo Gallery, Trailer and Cast And Crew Interviews.[7]
For its US release, the film was renamed Formula 51. Both names reference the drug — POS 51, which the film centres around — that is apparently "fifty-one times more powerful than cocaine, fifty-one times more hallucinogenic than acid, fifty-one times more explosive than ecstasy."[3]
The film received a rating of 25% based on 102 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes,[8] as well as a score of 23 out of 100 at Metacritic representing "generally unfavorable reviews".[9] Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times newspaper called the movie "a farce," giving the film one out of four stars, and particularly negative comments on the films' content and script.[10] Generally positive reviews were given by both BBC[11] and Empire reviewers, with Alan Morrison of the latter calling it "full-on fun" and that the movie "goes beyond the boundaries" of British films.[12] IGN.com also gave the film a generally positive review, concluding that "you get exactly what you pay for" and that the film was overall very "enjoyable".[13]
The film had its world premiere on 7 December 2001, in London's West End Curzon Cinema[14] and took in £913,239 on its opening weekend. In the United States it made $2,818,142 on its opening weekend and was viewed across the country on 1,857 screens.[15]
In total, the film earned over $14.4 million at the worldwide box office, $5.2 million of that in the U.S. and $9.2 million elsewhere.[16]
The soundtrack featured popular artists such as PJ Harvey, Run DMC, Nelly, and Stephen Day.[17]
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