Everyone loves a gangster film. The Godfather trilogy features in numerous top 10 lists scattered across the internet, and Guy Ritchie made a living from the crafty cockneys on the other side of the Atlantic. But how close the reality are any of these? Would the real gangsters be more brutal than the filmic adaptions can imagine, or are they a misunderstood product of their surroundings? Accounts of real life gangsters have been patchy at best, but in The End we have what might be the best look behind the image that I've ever seen.
The film is produced by
Teena Collins and directed by her sister
Nicola, both of whome featured in
Snatch and both of whom are the child of a real life cockney rascal. If there's a better position from which to create a documentary about a life of villainy in the East End of London, I can't think of one. Talking to a diverse group of East End geezers, all of whom were partial to various types of villainy, the documentary paints a haunting picture of the life they led. The best thing though is that it is not an artificially created 'story' that is pursued throughout, it is a collection of anecdotes and insights that together gives an intriguing, absorbing and exciting glimpse into the lives they lived. Stories of bare-knuckle fighting, of thieving and of blazing gun battles with the police make the character seem exactly like the fearless gangsters that mirror their lives on screen. Enforcers discuss acid attacks and vengeance, and the big players talk of building their reputations. But just as quickly as this side of their character emerges, it recedes into loveable, ordinary guys who care more about their families than anything else. They reveal a code of honour that means you never hurt anyone unless you have to, and no matter what, however angry you are or however bad a situation is, you don't hurt women and kids. It's a code that says you rob because you have to, if you get caught you go to prison, if you're in prison you beat the hell of dirty paedophiles - because the deserve it. There is something attractive about this dying world they live in. The East End is not the place it used to be, and for all its vibrant cultural diversity it will always be sad to think of this community of loveable rogues with a strong sense of morals (albeit slightly different morals to wider society) disappearing. But it is also a sign that a whole excluded group of society is gone, and it is never ignored that these people only did these things because that's the lives they were born into. One concern that could perhaps be voiced about the film is that of objectivity. I mean, sure they've got a good inside view of the real and recreated worlds of the big lads in the East End but that could result in them embedding their own views and experiences into the interview. Well I'm happy to report that this was not once the case. The interviews reaped the benefits of the easy way in which Nicola spoke with her interviewees, with awesome footage of guys being absolutely candid about their experiences. When they reached something they couldn't talk about on camera, they'd even say so. To the credit of the Collins sisters these moments were kept in, allowing us to understand where the conversation was going and be fully aware of the boundaries that the film had to work within. It was all put together with superb style, geared towards a gritty black-and-white film look that frames the characters in the classic, rough-and-ready look that suits them so well. An excellent film that anyone who's ever loved a gangster film should watch. Full of priceless stories and colourful characters it captures a unique time and place in Britain, an instant classic. The End has a limited U.K. run in theatres from Friday and is released on
DVD on June 8th.