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William Monahan, who won an Oscar for the screenplay of Martin Scorsese's "The Departed," now tries his hand at both writing and directing with a new crime drama called "London Boulevard."

Colin Farrell plays Mitchell, who just been spent a few years in prison and wants to go straight.

He takes a job as a bodyguard for Charlotte, a movie star, played by Keira Knightley, and basically has to keep the paparazzi away from her. Eventually these two wind up getting romantically involved.

Despite Mitchell's efforts to stay away from a life of crime, as we've seen in many movies before, there are numerous forces, predominately some menacing gangsters from London, trying to pull him back in.

The movie is very predictable, but it's not without some charms. From a visual standpoint, the movie has a stylish look. The 1960s soundtrack adds a nice touch and the cast, particularly Farrell and several supporting players that include Ray Winstone, get the job done.

But none of the numerous subplots really gel and the pacing is boring at times. The characters are also rather stereotyped. The actors rise above the level of the material and the jumbled direction, but it's not enough to pull it out of the doldrums.

There are some interesting ideas at work here, but writer-director Monahan doesn't really know how to exploit them to his advantage.

Knightley does an adequate job and fans of Farrell, while they might admire his performance, will probably be disappointed with the overall film.

"London Boulevard" is also available on Time Warner Cable Movies On Demand.

Neil Rosen's Big Apple Rating: 1.5 Apples