5 Other Dennis Lehane Novels That Should Be Movies

This one was a bit of a departure for Dennis Lehane, but it still has all the markings of a Lehane tale; striking characters and a story told with chilling detail. It is a historical drama based in the early 1900’s Boston. There are anarchist bombings, mass riot battles with police and an exciting espionage tale of policeman Danny Coughlin going undercover to rout out radical elements within the police unions. This would be a big budget period piece, with an atmosphere similar to Gangs of New York or Boardwalk Empire.

Martin Scorsese has already adapted a Lehane novel once before and has shown strength in period dramas. In his hands, this story could reach remarkable heights and be turned into more Lehane penned Oscar bait.The story has a long list of characters which sets for quite the ensemble of character actors. The sequel to this book is already in development under the direction of Ben Affleck but there’s no reason this story could not be told separately. 

Casting choices:
Give the lead role of Danny to someone like Ryan Gosling and you’re guaranteed to put people in the seats. My pick for the other male lead, Luther, would be Anthony Mackie.  For the female leads, I could see Emily Blunt as the down-on-her-luck Nora O'Shea and Annbelle Wallis from Peaky Blinders as the femme-fatale Tessa Ficara.