If nothing else, Good People serves as a relatively novel entry in Francos wilfully unpredictable filmography: Theres a tendency among critics to refer to his more eccentric characterizations as feats of performance art, yet the affably weak-willed, plaid-clad everyman he plays here seems further outside his wheelhouse than most roles he takes on. The last time we saw Franco in this kind of pulpy programmer last years Jason Statham vehicle Homefront he was on methed-up, reptilian villain duty, and hes having visibly less fun as the ostensible hero here. Still, with his affectations on hold, he projects the imperfect, fidgety decency of a John Garfield not a bad match for material that at least nods to transplantedJames M. Cain-stylenoirbefore taking off on an absurd action tangent.In fact, Mastersons screenplay is based on a 2008 novel by Chicago-based author Marcus Sakey, who specializes in blue-collar crime narratives set in and around his hometown. For reasons of funding, presumably, the film relocates the narrative to London, with Franco and Hudson as Windy City emigres Tom and Anna Wright, trying their luck in the British capitals oversubscribed property development racket. The switch should work well enough, placing this ordinary pair even further out of their element when the chips are down, but is incompletely imagined: The London criminal world here isnt even recognizable from the Cockney cartoons of Guy Ritchie. Only a tonier accent separatesTom Wilkinsons dogged vice detective from a stock Hollywood gumshoe; awood-paneled fleabag motel that serves as a temporary sanctuary to the couple feels more New Mexico than New Cross.Quite why the Wrights, seeking a fresh start after losing everything in the U.S. economic crisis, chose to do so in one of the worlds most expensive cities is one of the films deeper mysteries. In a token nod to realism, theyre at least paying the price:Constructionmanager Tom has romantic dreams of renovating a derelict family property outside the city center, but its proving a financial sinkhole, while broody schoolteacher Anna requires IVF treatment that is beyond the couples means. Threatened with eviction from their ramshackle South London apartment, they receive a dubious gift from the gods when their shady sublet tenant Ben (Francis Magee) is found dead downstairs, with 220,000 in cash secreted in his studio.Desperately reasoning that money is only made bad by those in possession of it, they hide the loot from suspicious cop Halden (Wilkinson, coasting through), whos on the trail of the cross-Channel drug ring double-crossed by Ben. Its not long before Tom and Anna are pinpointed by deranged Limey gangster Jack (Sam Spruell) and an urbane Parisian dealer (The Intouchables starOmar Sy) who goes by the unprepossessing name of Genghis Khan. The ensuing cat-and-mouse chase is swiftly paced but markedly short on surprises, culminating in an inevitable showdown at Toms rickety building site that plays like an especially grisly round of Home Alone for grown-ups. Between this and Antoine Fuquas simultaneously released The Equalizer, DIY power tools appear to be the good guys new weapons of choice a down-home solution one might count as a marginal victory for the gun control lobby. Guns are for pussies, spits Hudson, in by far her feistiest moment of the film.Tangy dialogue is in generally short supply, with the regional idiom barely in evidence. Sy gets the scripts most amusingly odd riff, channeling his historical namesake as he muses on his expanding criminal empire, but the charismatic Frenchman is otherwise given little to do but pick his teeth with sinister poise. Anna Friel is even more egregiously wasted in a throwaway best-friend role, though the film isnt particularly beholden to its leads either. Franco and Hudson (a more inquisitive, empathic dramatic actress than is generally recognized) have a comfortable, unfussy chemistry together, and make some effort to probe the moral ambiguities of the script. They cant, however, do much to enliven characters whose most distinctive quirk is their icky shared euphemism for sex sushi night, incidentally.Working outside his native tongue, Genzs taste for semi-absurdist deadpan comedy doesnt get much of an airing here. He does, on the other hand, bring a modicum of frowzy visual panache to proceedings, with an assist from Danish d.p. Jorgen Johanssons rainy-day lensing and the tinnily thin, peelingly papered walls of Kave Quinns production design. In a film already experiencing some transatlantic identity issues, the helmers imprint of Scandi-noir style hardly feels out of place.Film Review: 'Good People'Reviewed online, London, Sept. 25, 2014. MPAA Rating: R. Running time:90 MIN.Production(U.S.-U.K.-Denmark) A Millennium Entertainment (in U.S.) release of a Millennium Films presentation of a Millennium Films, Film 360, Material Pictures, Eyeworks Fine & Mellow production in co-production with Filmgate Films, Film I Vast. (International sales: Millennium Films, Los Angeles.) Produced by Benjamin Forkner, Eric Kranzler, Tobey Maguire, Matthew Plouffe, Thomas Gammeltoft, Matt O'Toole, Mark Gill. Executiveproducers, Avi Lerner, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson, Neil Sacker, Robert Katz. Co-executive producer, Lonnie Ramati.CrewDirected by Henrik Ruben Genz. Screenplay, Kelly Masterson, based on the novel by Marcus Sakey.Camera(color, widescreen), Jorgen Johansson;editor, Paul Tothill; music, Neil Davidge; music supervisor, Selena Arizanovic; production designer, Kave Quinn; art director, Mark Raggett; set decorator, Niamh Coulter; costume designer, Keith Madden; sound (Dolby Digital), John Casali; supervising sound editor, Nigel Mills; re-recording mixer, Craig Irving; visual effects supervisor, Urban Forsberg; visual effects, Filmgate; stunt coordinator, Andy Bennett; assistant director, Mark Goddard; second unit director, Simon Duric; second unit camera, Alan Stewart; casting, Shaheen Baig.WithJames Franco, Kate Hudson, Tom Wilkinson, Omar Sy, Sam Spruell, Anna Friel, Oliver Dimsdale, Diana Hardcastle, Thomas Arnold, Michael Jibson, Diarmaid Murtagh, Maarten Dannenberg, Francis Magee, Michael Fox.