The Long Firm

[firestorm717.livejournal.com]

Anyone know of slash, or really, any sort of fandom/fic for the 4-part BBC drama, The Long Firm? It's based on a novel of the same name by Jake Arnott, and revolves around the rise and fall of homosexual Jewish gangster Harry Starks in '60s Soho. Magnificent performance by Mark Strong as the titular character (see icon).

Edit: You can watch the series in its entirety on Youtube.

Comments

[angstytimelord.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen any fic for it (more's the pity), but I agree that the series is absolutely wonderful, as is Mark Strong.

He was brilliant in the Ralph Fiennes film Sunshine, as well.

[firestorm717.livejournal.com]

Too bad, there's so much potential, and I'm a sucker for gangsters with emotional problems. I was hoping that there'd at least be a fan community, but I guess since it's such a little-known BBC drama without any foreign release, that was too much to hope for.

Been on a Mark Strong binge lately :D Haven't seen Sunshine, what's the movie about? Does he play a good or bad character? XD

[angstytimelord.livejournal.com]

I only got to see it because a friend who's into gangster dramas has a region-free dvd player on their computer & burned me a copy. It's a shame that more BBC films don't get an international release, especially since many of them are head & shoulders above American films in the quality department.

Sunshine is about three generations of a Jewish family in Hungary in the early- to mid-20th century. Strong plays Istvan, the younger brother of one of Ralph Fiennes' characters. Whether he's a good or bad guy depends on how you view Ivan's (Fiennes) motivations.

I can't say enough about Fiennes' performance in this film. He plays three characters, the patriarch (so to speak) of each generation of the family. It's just astounding how he can play three radically different characters and make you BELIEVE that he's all three people. He really should have been Oscar-nominated for it, but I firmly believe that the Oscars roundly ignore the most deserving actors in favor of who made the most $$$$.

The film is a bit long (clocks in right around 3 hours, I think), but it's well worth the viewing time. Also, if you're a Fiennes fan like me, there's a full-frontal scene (though even if the view is nice, the scene itself is brutal and very difficult to watch).

[firestorm717.livejournal.com]

Sounds interesting, I'll definitely give it a look when I get a chance! Thanks for the rec.