''Strangeways Here We Come'' is an English
comedy drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple co ...
, written and directed by Chris Green, in which a group of residents in a
council estate decide to defeat a cruel
loan shark
A loan shark is a person who offers loans at extremely high interest rates, has strict terms of collection upon failure, and generally operates outside the law.
Description
Because loan sharks operate mostly illegally, they cannot reasonably ...
that has been making their lives miserable. It was filmed in
Salford. The name is taken from
the Smiths’
album of the same name.
Cast
*
Elaine Cassidy
Elaine Cassidy (born 31 December 1979) is an Irish actress. She is best known for playing DC Dinah Kowalska in ''No Offence'', Abby Mills in the American television series ''Harper's Island'' for CBS, Felicia in ''Felicia's Journey'', Runt in ...
as Steph
* James Cooney as Ollie
* Oliver Coopersmith as Aaron
*
Chanel Cresswell
Chanel Cresswell (born 23 January 1990) is an English actress, known for playing Kelly Jenkins in the film ''This Is England'' (2006) and the three subsequent series ''This Is England '86'' (2010), '' This Is England '88'' (2011) and ''This I ...
as Becki
*
Perry Fitzpatrick
Perry Fitzpatrick is an English actor. He is known for his roles as DS Chris Lomax in the BBC series '' Line of Duty'', Flip in '' This Is England '86'' and ''This Is England '90'', and Hot & Cold in '' Drifters''.
Early life
Fitzpatrick atte ...
as Marvin
* James Foster as Brian
* Saffron Hocking as Sian
*
Michelle Keegan as Demi
*
Stephen Lord as Nolan
* Mark Sheals as Max
*
Lauren Socha as Shelley
* Ania Sowinski as Jean
*
Nina Wadia as Lucy
* Ste Johnston as Gary
Background
The film's writer and director, Chris Green, said: “This was made by someone who lived there. Growing up on Spike Island we saw a lot of violence. I can honestly say that 90 per cent of what you see in that film is true - its stuff I’ve seen, stuff I’ve experienced or know about. Apart from the murder, obviously."
Reception
Upon its release in 2018, ''Strangeways Here We Come'' garnered overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' rated the film zero stars, and Mike McCahill, reviewing for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', rated the film 1/5 stars, commenting that critics would be "torn between highlighting those actors who make a few scenes tolerable or granting them the anonymity they surely longed for as they fled the cast-and-crew screening with heads under blankets." Benjamin Poole, for themoviewaffler.com, wrote "Vile stereotypes of people at the tough end of the social scale, disdainful representations seemingly designed to comfort and entertain those fortunate enough to never have to go near social housing."
In 2022, the film saw increased popularity on
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
, appearing on the streaming site's "Most Watched" list. Green told ''
Manchester Evening News
The ''Manchester Evening News'' (''MEN'') is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in North West England, founded in 1868. It is published Monday–Saturday; a Sunday edition, the ''MEN on Sunday'', was launched in February 201 ...
'': "I'm glad for everyone involved, and I’m proud to have come from Salford and being able to turn my experiences into entertainment. I’m not a multi-millionaire but I am doing the job that I love, writing for film and TV and telling the stories that inspire me."
Commercial reception
''Strangeways Here We Come'' grossed $3,473 worldwide.
External links
Official website*
References
{{Reflist
2018 independent films
2018 comedy-drama films
British comedy-drama films
Films set in England
Films shot in Lancashire
Films shot in Greater Manchester
2010s English-language films
2010s British films