''My Name Is Lenny'' is a 2017 British
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
film directed by Ron Scalpello, and written by Martin Askew and Paul Van Carter. The film stars
Josh Helman
Joshua Helman (born 22 February 1986) is an Australian television and film actor. Helman played William Stryker in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', and its sequel, '' X-Men: Apocalypse''. He has also appeared in the 2015 installment of the ''Ma ...
,
Chanel Cresswell,
Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...
and
John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
in his penultimate film role. It tells the story of
Lenny McLean's life in the east end of London.
Plot
Lenny McLean is a 27 year old undefeated bare-knuckle boxer who competes in unsanctioned street fights in the
East End of London
The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...
in the late 1970s. During one morning, Lenny spots a poster of undefeated boxer Roy Shaw, dubbed 'the Guv'Nor'. Linking the nickname to his abusive stepfather Jim, an infuriated Lenny immediately agrees to partake in an unsanctioned bout with him. However, Shaw badly beats McLean into a bloody state and fouls him multiple times while downed.
With little funds left, Lenny's cousin John 'Bootnose' Wall provides him with a backyard training camp and several other unsanctioned bouts to earn enough fight money to lure Shaw into a rematch. Following a confrontation at a bar with his cousin Carrots, Lenny beats Carrots close to death and bites into his neck in a drunken rage. His wife, Valerie, is horrified, and begins scorning him for his savage behaviour, leaving him.
An unofficial rematch is held between McLean and Shaw. McLean enacts his revenge and manages to knock Shaw out of the ring, though his wife Valerie is still despondent with him. The contest is deemed a draw, and an immediate rematch is called for with winnings of the last fight being transferred into the third bout. Lenny attempts to atone for his past misdeeds and decides to abstain from drinking ahead of the fight. However, after a bar brawl in which he is stabbed in the leg, he is treated for septicaemia a week later, though he recovers. Lenny and Valerie subsequently reconcile and have sex.
Johnny takes Lenny to a professional boxing gym to be properly taught boxing, and Lenny trains hard and earnestly, as well as paying for the damages he caused in his fight with Carrots.
Prior to the fight, Jim appears in the dressing room and begins taunting Lenny before being threatened by his son to leave. Lenny dominates the subsequent fight with Shaw, knocking him out in the first round and earning the titular title, the 'Guv'Nor'.
End credits show the real Lenny McLean being interviewed, and that upon being crowned the 'Guv'Nor' in 1978, he defended his title up until his death in 1998, all the while being trained by Johnny. Lenny subsequently starred in the 1998 film
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'' is a 1998 British black comedy crime film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, produced by Matthew Vaughn and starring an ensemble cast featuring Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, Nick Moran, Steven Mackinto ...
, with his autobiography simultaneously taking the top spot on book charts as did the film on the box office. Lenny died a week later aged 49. Lenny was survived by his siblings and he also had two children, Jamie and Kelly McLean. Credits also reveal that Valerie passed a decade after Lenny. Carrots never forgave Lenny, but their sons are best friends.
Cast
*
Josh Helman
Joshua Helman (born 22 February 1986) is an Australian television and film actor. Helman played William Stryker in '' X-Men: Days of Future Past'', and its sequel, '' X-Men: Apocalypse''. He has also appeared in the 2015 installment of the ''Ma ...
as
Lenny McLean
**
Jack Veal
Jack Veal (born 12 June 2007) is an English actor known for his role as Kid Loki (Marvel Cinematic Universe), Kid Loki in ''Loki (TV series), Loki'' (2021).
Early life
Jack Veal was born on 12 June 2007, in London, England.
Career
In 2017, ...
as young Lenny
"Now Look What You’ve Gone And Done, My Tea's Cold" – My Name Is Lenny (Film Review)
/ref>
* Chanel Cresswell as Valerie McLean
* Michael Bisping
Michael Gavin Joseph Bisping (; born 28 February 1979) is an English actor, sports analyst, commentator and retired mixed martial artist, who competed in the Middleweight and Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional competitor ...
as Roy Shaw
Royston Henry Shaw (11 March 1936 – 14 July 2012), also known as Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw, Roy "Mean Machine" Shaw and Roy West, was a property investor, author and businessman from the East End of London who was formerly a criminal and Prison se ...
* John Hurt
Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...
as Leslie Salmon
* Nick Moran
Nick Moran (born 23 December 1968 or 1969, sources differ) is an English actor and filmmaker, best known for his role as Eddie the card sharp in ''Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels''. He appeared as Scabior in ''Harry Potter and the Deathly H ...
as Johnny Bootnose
* Charley Palmer Rothwell - Carrots McLean
* Rita Tushingham
Rita Tushingham (born 14 March 1942) is an English actress. She is known for her starring roles in films including ''A Taste of Honey'' (1961), ''The Leather Boys'' (1964), '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965), ...
as Reenie Joyce
* Cathal Pendred
Cathal Pendred is an Irish actor and former mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the Cage Warriors Welterweight World Champion.
Background
Pendred was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish immigrant ...
as Roofie
* Martin Askew as Lenny's Step-father - Askew, who is Mclean's nephew, also serves as a screenwriter for the film.
Production
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
on the film began on 22 August 2016 in the London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
neighbourhoods of Hoxton
Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...
and Islington
Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...
.
References
External links
* {{IMDb title, 2024521
2017 films
2010s sports drama films
2017 biographical drama films
British biographical drama films
British sports drama films
Drama films based on actual events
Sports films based on actual events
British boxing films
Films shot in London
2017 drama films
2010s English-language films
2010s British films