AllMovie

A nobody walks a dangerous path in a bid to become a big-shot in this gritty drama from the United Kingdom. Tony Cocozza (Ian Hart) is a small-time Scottish vocalist with a gimmick -- he loves the music of Frank Sinatra, and his repertoire consists almost entirely of songs associated with Ol' Blue Eyes. While Tony has a good voice and can bring off Sinatra's material quite well, he's a clueless nebbish offstage and hasn't been able to advance his career beyond the bottom rungs of the Scottish nightclub circuit. One night, while Tony waits out an intermission in his dressing room, an imposing-looking man named Chisolm (Brian Cox) arrives with a request -- his boss (Iain Cuthbertson) would prefer to hear some songs by Elvis Presley. Chisolm's boss turns out to be a powerful and dangerous crime kingpin, so Tony swallows his pride and sings like The King for a few minutes; the mobster is pleased, and Tony soon finds himself playing a better grade of nightclubs and spending his spare time with some of Glasgow's most notorious crime figures. Bill (Alun Armstrong), Tony's pianist and closest companion, warns Tony that he's getting in over his head with his new and dangerous friends, but imagining success is finally around the corner -- and emboldened by his new relationship with Irene (Kelly MacDonald), a pretty but cynical cigarette girl he met at a gig -- Tony refuses to listen to him. Strictly Sinatra also stars Tommy Flanagan and Richard E. Grant.