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SMALLSCREENINFILTRATESGARETHEVANS’GANGSOFLONDON...
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THESOPRANOS
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Familyand“family”
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THERAID
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THEDARKKNIGHT
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as much dark city
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superheroflickSKY
MAKING
OF
Fed up of being sidelined, widow
Marian (Michelle Fairley) positions
oldest son Sean (Joe Cole) to take over,
to the chagrin of longtime ally Ed
Dumani (Lucian Msamati) and his son
Alex (Paapa Essiedu). Sean’s siblings,
smack-addicted Billy (Brian Vernel) and
estranged Jacqueline (Valene Kane),
have other priorities, for now at least.
And that’s to say nothing of the
Albanians, Kurds, Pakistanis, Nigerians
and others rushing to fill the power
vacuum, nor of the mysterious Elliott
Finch (Sope Dirisu) as he insinuates his
way into the organisation...
“Elliott grew up all over Europe with
his dad, a journeyman boxer, so he
found it difficult to form relationships,
let alone get a grasp on who he was as
a person,” explains Dirisu, having just
finished a scene of intense disagreement
with Cole’s Sean. “He’s a nobody when
we meet him, but he’s doing the best
he can with the hand he’s been dealt.”
The 10-part GOL is the brainchild of
Gareth Evans, auteur of the ground-
and-body-breaking The Raid and itssequel. “London is one of the cities
where you can hear 15 different
languages just walking down the
street,” says Evans, who created the
series and co-directs alongside Xavier
Gens (Hitman) and Corin Hardy (The
Nun). “My worry with a film franchise
is that you only get 15 minutes of a
two-hour story to devote to all the
different side characters and subplots.
It wouldn’t feel balanced, so I suggested
going long-form and making it for TV.”
Central to the project was finding
a leading man who could pull off the
emotional, dramatic stuff and look
convincing in a scrap. “I discovered I
wasn’t as fit as I wanted to be,” admits
Dirisu, who performed most of his
own stunts. “The choreography
means it’s like a dance. The steps
are important to keep everyone
safe so I became a perfectionist.
Gareth’s reputation is amazing- I don’t want to be the one
to ruin it!”
But it’s via his physical
prowess that Elliott wins the
trust of the Wallaces at a time when
everyone’s a suspect – not least to
Sean. “Sean’s trying to understand
who his dad was, who killed him, and
then take revenge,” says Cole. “He
has a dangerous streak but everything
he does is thought out.”
Hardy references numerous
set-pieces (Chinatown shootout;
Thames-based speedboat drugs
drop-off) and credits Johns Woo
and Carpenter as key influences.
Meanwhile, Evans describes how
they’ve created a heightened,
“Gothamised” vision of the capital.
Gangs Of London also boasts an
incredibly diverse cast, befitting its
depiction of one of the world’s most
multicultural cities. “I appreciated it
showing London in its truest light:
multiracial, multinational...” says
Msamati. “Those who would be
considered the establishment are not
all old, crusty, white people any
more – I liked that the script has
been unapologetic about that.
We’re not resorting to clichés.
And it was nice to drive some
cool cars!” Gabriel TateGANGS OF LONDON STARTS
ON SKY ATLANTIC AND
NOW TV THIS MONTH.A
multi-storey mansion in well-heeled Kew is the last place TF
expected to come for a show called Gangs Of London. But this is
the homestead of the Wallace family, underworld kingpins of
decades’ standing whose reign is jeopardised by the series-opening
assassination of respected/feared patriarch, Finn (Colm Meaney).GAMESRADARCOM/TOTALFILM APRIL 2020 | TOTAL FILM