The Sweeney.

Jack Regan and George Carter

Nick Love’s feature film pedigree to date has not really set the world on fire, although he has sold a lot of DVD’s, all of which include alpha males, guns and a great deal of violence. They have included The Football Factory (2004), which is an adaptation of the novel of the same name written by John King about a group of working class Chelsea supporter’s who attend games both home and away and indulge in fights with rival football fans, The Business (2005) follows the rise and fall of a young villain within a drug importing setup run by a group of fugitive ex-pat’s on the Costa del Sol on the Spanish coast line.  Following this in 2007 he made Outlaw, which like the other two movies starred Danny Dyer and involved lots of violence, this one about a soldier who in 2006 return’s from duty to extract revenge on local criminals.  As you probably gathered his target audience would normally be young ‘geezers’ who after a good night out with their mates would bring home a curry and stick on a DVD to round off the evening.

Jack's love interest Nancy Lewis.

 Using the same formula and a tag line that reads ‘Act like a criminal to catch a criminal’ our 43-year-old London director has made a big screen version of one of the most popular TV series of the seventies The Sweeney (2012). Updating it to present day London this guilty pleasure has lost none of it’s the original excitement and in fact has some extremely good set piece shootouts. One of Britain’s grittiest actors Ray Winstone takes on the role of Jack Regan, originally played in four TV series and two feature films by the late John Thaw, his side kick George Carter has now been given a back story that includes a criminal record as a young lad who, given a chance by father figure Regan, has become an important figure in the flying squad. Taking on the Denis Waterman role is actor, singer and director of ill Manors (2012) Ben Drew who fits the role like a glove. Also in major roles are Homeland star Damian Lewis as Detective Chief Inspector Frank Haskins, the Sweeney’s boss, Steven Mackintosh is the internal affair’s officer Ivan Lewis who has a special interest in Regan and his squad and up and coming star Hayley Atwell, who played Peggy Carter in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), is the ultra tough Detective Constable Nancy Lewis, Regan’s love interest and Ivan Lewis wife!

Gun fight in Trafalgar Square.

In the extra’s that accompany the Blu-Ray Nick Love informed us that the film has been on the boil for five years, a change of film company and problems which saw the budget reduced from 8 million down to 2 million held up the films production. Love assures us that it is a serious and honest attempt to follow the format of the original but to update it to modern times, which has allowed him to give the film a contemporary feel hopefully appealing to both the original and new fans. It also allowed his DOP Simon Dennis some wonderful shoots of London.

The Sweeney have a bit of business to sort out!!

Tough, gritty, ultra violent, but wonderfully diverting, a film in which Winstone breath’s fire as the politically incorrect Regan, who will go to any lengths to catch his villain. (Incidentally Ray Winstone started his screen career with an appearance in the TV series in 1976). Credit must also go to the stunt coordinator Tony Lucken without whom the action scenes and fights, not forgetting the car chases, would not have been so thrilling. Ignore what the critics say just suspend your disbelief, sit back and be entertained by a ‘geezers’ film with class.  

The Ford motor car, such an intrinsic part of the original series.

ill Manors.

Ben Drew, never afraid to give an opinion (he must be a Londoner!)

Ben Drew is an interesting character: born Benjamin Paul Balance Drew in Forest Gate East London in 1983 he is celebrated professionally as Plan B. Primarily known as a rapper and a singer songwriter. His second studio album was the very well received The Defamation of Strickland Banks (2010) a soul record that went straight to number one in the United Kingdom album charts. Another string to Drew’s bow is his talents as a movie actor appearing in Adulthood (2008), Harry Brown (2009) 4.3.2.1 (2010) and as George Carter, Detective Inspector Jack Regan’s sidekick, in the film version of The Sweeney (2012)

East End youth culture!

This rather talented young man has now written and directed his own movie ill Manors (2012). It presents a different take on the London we have all seen during this summers Olympic games. Set in Forest Gate it attempts to illustrate the gang culture of this part of East London and depicts the type of young people

who could have been involved in the inner city riots that took place during the summer of 2011. A great deal of the back ground for this movie is contained within the words of the songs written and performed by Plan B which gives us the equivalent of a spoken narrative but in song. The director giving a unique insight to a side of life which most of us only experience from the news, juxtaposing the lives of various disenfranchised young people in a very skilful manor but without glamorisation or exaggeration.

Part of this culture is the power of the gun.

Aaron (Riz Ahmed who gets better every time you see him) brought up in a children’s home is trying to stay clean and wants to locate his biological mother, his best mate Ed (Ed Skrein) a tough small time dealer, has lost his mobile phone which has got the numbers of his drug contacts. Suspecting the crack addicted prostitute Michelle (Anouska Mond) of stealing the phone he literally drags her round the streets pimping her until she has raised enough money to pay him back. Kirby, ex king pin dealer of the area has just been released from prison and now has to wrestle control from his former apprentice Chris who has taken control of the ex prisoners turf.  Chris in the mean time is trying to extract revenge for the shooting of his young sister while the teenager Jake is determined to prove himself to Marcel so he can join his gang. Katya (Natalie Press one of the few professional actors) is pregnant and trying to escape from Russian sex traffickers.

Both Chris and Jake are victims of the culture.

I think from this brief description you can ascertain the general essence of the movie. The original idea came from a short film that Ben Drew made with the help of Mike Figgis (Leaving Las Vegas 1995) in 2008 for the London Film Festival. Beginning with a 20-page script, reduced to 5 pages it became Bisness Woman. Which in turn led to a longer film called Michelle, which demonstrated that Drew was an up and coming director of some merit.  Expanding the same character’s found in Michelle Drew went on to make ill Manors.

..... as is the young trafficked  Russian girl Katya.

Initially having to contend with 2009’s credit crunch, finance was hard to come by but eventually making the film with a micro-budget provided by the Film London Microwave scheme. Making the film on location in Forest Gate was also a problem because the local gangs, who were none too keen on them ‘invading’ their turf to make a movie, constantly monitored the crew who attempted to be as unobtrusive as possible.

Are Aaron and Ed forced into this culture by a birth lottery?

This is a fall-on hard-hitting slice of gritty entertainment based on reality that attempts to give reasons for the attitude of this disfranchised section of society. It also sets out to disprove the platitudes put out by our out of touch rulers that preaches to the gullible that staging the Olympics in East London would change the perceptions and the lives of the local inhabitants? An excellent first feature from our rap star but one that will leave you feeling you have been battered both mentally and physically.