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The National
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The National
Gangs of London actors on how the show strikes the perfect balance of action and drama
Three seasons in, Gangs of London hasn't lost any of its dark grandeur, with the British crime drama still delivering a potent mix of white-knuckle action and brooding pathos. At its centre are characters navigating a foreboding urban landscape where brutality is as prized as ambition. British-Nigerian actor Sope Dirisu, who plays undercover officer turned mob enforcer Elliot Finch, describes the series' sprawling scope – involving warring multicultural criminal syndicates battling for control of London's underworld – as positively Shakespearean. 'When I first met with Gareth [Evans, series co-creator] almost seven years ago, he spoke about the operatic nature of the series. And I think it's a very small step between opera and grand theatre, which is Shakespeare,' Dirisu tells The National. Dirisu, who began his career with stints with London's Royal Shakespeare Company, sees Elliot as a figure drawn from that tradition – torn between duty, survival and loss. 'Looking at the entire city through that kind of lens means you need characters who can stand on that stage and carry the story,' he says. 'Elliot, being front and centre from the beginning of the series, needs to have a certain gravity – but also the ability to hold silence. If the whole series was just big explosions, it wouldn't be as gripping.' That balance of grit and gravity continues to shape Gangs of London. The action in the new episodes is as kinetic as ever, but often grounded by the unfolding drama of morally complex characters. For Iranian-German actress Narges Rashidi, who plays Kurdish militia leader Lale, the show's moral tension is what keeps the series compelling. 'We rarely see drama and action combined so well,' she says. 'If it's action-heavy, usually there is not much emotionality or depth. I feel like we've managed to achieve that balance.' As Lale is one of the show's most fully realised characters – an idealist using criminal activity to serve a wider political goal – Rashidi approached the role methodically. 'That complexity makes her special but, as an actor you do research. I studied the London crime scene extensively, the Kurdish crime scene in particular. But then the show allows you to go to places where you just jump in and trust your instincts,' she says. From her tightly coiled emotional restraint to sudden bursts of violence, Rashidi compares Lale to a jaguar. 'There's this profound stillness in her. But what I love about the character is when this animal emerges, it's not pretty any more and not silent. It's just an unleashed force,' she says. The same can be said of Gangs of London 's extraordinary action sequences, whose bloody and balletic style evokes the work of classic Hong Kong filmmakers John Woo and Tsui Hark. Dirisu credits Evans – who announced himself with the acclaimed 2011 Indonesian action film The Raid – with setting the tone for the show's signature visual mayhem. 'I think it's very clear that he has a wonderful East Asian cinema influence in his own filmmaking,' Dirisu notes. 'And I think he would be delighted as a Welshman to be continuing the strong history of East Asian cinema throughout the world.' While hyper-stylised, the action is meant to up the emotional stakes as opposed to being purely escapism, Dirisu says. 'I think it's easy to create action heroes who just storm into a bar and beat up seven guys and then they're seen as invincible. Whereas what was really important about this character is that he's actually just a human being. He's not a superhero and he is not Batman,' he adds. 'So he's not going to come through unscathed through everything. There have to be moments of jeopardy for us to care about whether or not he's going to survive this sequence. Otherwise, it just becomes something that we can sit back and let wash over us.' That eclectic style extends to both the multicultural plotline and production team. Gangs of London reflects the city's cosmopolitanism through a network of rival criminal factions. While Dirisu and Rashidi share the screen with standout performances from Pakistani actor Asif Raza Mir, British-Tanzanian actor Lucian Msamati and British-Albanian actor Orli Shuka, half of the third season's eight episodes are directed by South Korea's Kim Hong-sun, known for Money Heist: Korea – Joint Economic Area. Rashidi says the international continent is essential to the success of the series. 'London is incredibly diverse with so many cultures, languages, people from every background. Our producers understand this is London's reality, and it's crucial we reflect that both behind and in front of the camera,' she says. 'Everyone behind the camera brings something from their culture, their background, making it more authentic.' Dirisu says the series has already cemented its legacy through its scale and visual ambition. 'There have been a lot of series that have tried and done very well to emulate the action design that we have achieved in Gangs of London,' he says. 'And it's a wonderful little gentle competition to keep the quality high and to do something again that people haven't seen before.' This raises the question of whether a fourth season is on the way. 'Whenever I come to the end of a really good story, I'm always asking: 'What's next?'' Dirisu says. 'Give us some time to cook it up, so we can make sure it's good.'
Reuters
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
Nigeria's first film in Cannes lineup explores masculinity, family dynamics
CANNES, France, May 19 (Reuters) - With "My Father's Shadow," Nigeria's first film in the Cannes Film Festival's official selection, director Akinola Davies Jr. wanted to create something deeply personal, he told Reuters. The film had to mean "something to me, to him (my brother), to my family, to our community, I guess to masculinity in general," said Davies about the film competing in the second-tier Un Certain Regard category that he wrote with his brother, Wale. Davies' first feature takes place over one day in 1993, when two brothers' absent father, played by "Gangs of London" star Sope Dirisu, shows up unannounced and takes them to Lagos. Their father is there to try to recoup some money owed from his employer as the country is on edge after the outcome of the first elections in a decade under military rule is annulled. Newcomers and real-life brothers Godwin Egbo, 11 at the time of filming, and Chibuike Marvellous Egbo, then 8, play the young siblings in the semi-autobiographical film that's been picked up for distribution by streamer Mubi. "Nigeria was going through a time where there was a lot of enthusiasm for this idea of a statesman who was going to lead us to potential," similar to the boys' relationship with their father, said Davies, who was raised between London and Lagos. "Both things being so sort of strong and dominant, but equally super vulnerable and super fragile - I think the tension sort of played off each other really well," said Davies. Dirisu, a British actor born to Nigerian parents, said that the film made him take a deeper look at what it means to be a father as well as how Nigeria fits into his personal identity. "There were a lot of things I had to interrogate for the role, but it was exciting," the actor told Reuters. Davies' film is one of several strong contenders competing in Un Certain Regard this year, with actors Harrison Dickinson, Kristen Stewart and Scarlett Johansson also in the race with their directorial debuts. The Guardian, opens new tab gave "My Father's Shadow" four out of five stars, calling it a "subtle and intelligent coming-of-age tale" while industry publication IndieWire, opens new tab gave the "beautifully remembered drama" the grade of B+. Davies hopes the movie's inclusion at Cannes will pave the way for more African films at the festival. "African stories are out there," he told Reuters, but they need to be able to get to festivals like Cannes to be seen. When there's willingness from other areas of the world, and points of access, however, those films can come through, he said.
The Guardian
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
My Father's Shadow review – subtle and intelligent coming-of-age tale set in 1993 Nigeria
Once upon a time in Lagos might be an alternative title for this fervent and vividly intense child's-eye-view movie from first-time film-maker Akinola Davies Jr. It's a transparently personal project and a coming-of-age film in its (traumatised) way, a moving account of how, just for one day, two young boys glimpse the real life and real history of their father who has been mostly absent for much of their lives – and how they come to love and understand him just at the moment when they come to see his flaws and his weaknesses. It is 1993 in Nigeria, a tense time with the country on the edge of disorder due to the imminent presidential election, the first since a military takeover 10 years previously. In a remote village far from Lagos, two young boys (played by bright-spark newcomers Godwin Chimerie Egbo and Chibiuke Marvellous Egbo) are awed at the sudden reappearance of their father, Fola, played by Sope Dirisu, who makes no explanation or apology for having been away for so long on business in Lagos, or for appearing now unannounced. He is a handsome, charismatic, commanding man to whom they make the instant obedient responses 'Yes, daddy' and 'No, daddy'. Their father demands to know what has happened to his watch and have the boys been touching his possessions in the parental bedroom? (We are to glimpse that watch in the film's final moments.) And then he announces he must return to Lagos immediately, without waiting for their mother to return from shopping – and on a mysterious whim, says that the boys may on this occasion accompany him. What happens next is both an increasingly significant quest and bonding experience for father and sons as they struggle to get to the teeming capital on a bus with no petrol, and then by hitching a bumpy ride on a truck. Fola is on a desperate mission to reclaim four months' worth of unpaid wages before what he clearly expects will be a complete breakdown of law and order connected with with this election. The boys watch with bewildered quiet as their dad greets men they have never seen before and who nickname Fola 'kapo' or 'boss' – and they are commanded to greet a quasi-uncle with much politeness – yet the exact person who can get Fola his money is never around. Fola is under pressure, subdued, suffering unexplained nosebleeds. Yet this frustrating delay gives the three of them a kind of breathing space to get to know each other. Fola points out the city's handsome national theatre building where he says their mother used to spend all her time and money as a young woman. She was theatre-mad, they now discover. The kids had no idea. How could they? Fola also points out polo ponies in the street, belonging to Nigeria's wealthy classes. He takes them to a bar where he regales them with magical memories of falling in love with their mother – but also exchanges significant looks with a waitress. He takes them to the beach where he talks about the importance of providing for your family: that is what a man does, and it is what he himself has to do, with these unpaid wages, right now. And all the time, the boys are struck by the thousands of people and the thousands of faces which Davies shoots in looming closeup – especially the soldiers' impassive, intimidating faces. What his older son says to Fola is that his mother explained Fola was absent from them, because he needed to earn money – because he loved them, in fact. And God himself was nowhere to be seen and God loved them. So is absence the same thing as love? It is an artless, heartbreakingly unanswered question which is to dominate the tone of this engrossing film. Is absence love? Will we all feel love for someone most intensely when they are overtaken by the ultimate absence of death? It is a rich, heartfelt and rewarding movie. My Father's Shadow screened at the Cannes film festival.
Sky News
15-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Gangs Of London is back - here's what you need to know
Gangs Of London is one of the most violent shows on television and has gripped audiences since its release in 2020. Definitely not for the faint-hearted, it follows undercover police officer Elliott Carter, played by Sope Dirisu, working in the heart of a top-level criminal organisation after infiltrating the infamous and powerful Wallace family. Now in its third season, familiar faces return, and new villains emerge as the battle to lead the criminal underworld rages on. Note: Mild spoilers ahead "Every year we're trying to go a bit further," Dirisu told Sky News. The London-born actor is the cop-turned-criminal whose life was turned upside down when his family were killed in a car accident. Season three delves into those events as Elliott takes on a new role among the gangs. "It's a great testament to the response that we're getting from our audiences that they want more of it. People are still engaged. There are some shows that don't get to make a season three, so we don't take that for granted at all," he said. Set in a fictionalised version of London, akin to Gotham in the Batman universe, season three sees some new faces joining the fold. "It does feel like Batman is going to fly in at any minute," laughs Richard Dormer. The Game Of Thrones actor plays Cornelius Quinn in the series, the brother of Michelle Fairley's Marian Wallace and the uncle of Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole's character Sean Wallace. Dormer said: "I watched episode two of season one, when they raid the Travellers camp, and I just really sat up with wow. I just thought it was brilliantly done, technically, it was just amazing to watch." For the actor, as much as he enjoys being part of the cast, the violence depicted is not his cup of tea as a viewer. He said: "I'm not a big fan of it but I think technically, when it's done right, it's breathtaking. There's this kind of a thrill in it because it's safe and so over the top that you know it's not real so you can kind of wallow in it and enjoy it, you know." Andrew Koji takes on the mysterious assassin role, hidden by a hood and a glorious side fringe, in the upcoming episodes. "I didn't realise the fringe was that prominent," he told Sky News after watching the new episodes, adding "it's gone now, hopefully never to return". After working on Bullet Train, Warrior, Snake Eyes and most recently the Netflix show Black Doves, Koji said getting to use his background in mixed martial arts is always something he wants to lean towards. "This unique mix of his raid-esque style action with gripping family drama in this kind of heightened, stylised London is interesting, nuanced and different. I jumped at the opportunity."
