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Set to be released on Netflix, the original series Ganglands revolves around a semi-retired veteran thief who is forced to team up with much younger criminals as his niece becomes a part of a violent game of cat and mouse against a powerful drug lord who seeks to take over new turf.
Opening Shot: A ‘fit more western than Norwegian’ home located in the middle of a forest. A man is beginning his day with a jog on a treadmill as sun light floods into the room through the gigantic windows.
The Gist: The character known as Mehdi is portrayed by Sami Beaujolai and we’re therefore led to believe at the outset that he possesses the qualities of someone who is methodical and self-contained professional. The next time we see Mehdi, he is flying a drone while wearing goggle and a joystick which, through a set of clever trickery, allows him to monitor a group of armed thugs stationed at the tunnel mouth of a quarry. And of course, having met his crew of heisters, it’s also clear how serious they are as they put into motion a highly surgical and professionally conducted assault against the criminals who had hardcore taken over the quarry and were in the process of making off with a load of gold bars. This level of professionalism is however at odds with small timer Liana Tracy Gatos and her set which consists of girlfriend Shines Sofia Leadfree and fast talking Momo Sam Kallidin. Their racket revolves around placing a sham escort service advertisement and robbing men who are foolish enough to call them. But when Liana and Shines make off with a drug mule’s duffel bag full of cocaine, they rob the wrong room. Saber Salim Kechiche, a vicious dealer with expansion ambitions, captures Shines in order to get his product back. And perhaps, he may have succeeded, had it not been for Mehdi who happens to be the woman’s uncle.
Although Mehdi would prefer not to employ excessive violence, he will have to take his keen skills as a thief a lot further than he would like to and recruit a new ally, quick-witted Liana, to rescue Shines.
Each episode on Ganglands is roughly an hour long which details how criminals fight against one another. Julien Leclerc served as the director for every episode and he partnered with Hamid Hilux to create the series in its primary form. In France, Ganglands is referred to as Braeuer’s: La Serie owing to the fact that it is a series adaptation of the criminal universe that Leclerc previously delved into in his 2015 film titled Braeuer’s that featured Beaujolai as well. (Braeuer’s is a major tribute to Michael Mann’s masterpiece on heist films, Heat, and is currently streaming on Netflix as The Crew). The most appealing factor in Ganglands is Mehdi and the juxtaposition of his isolated realm of elite stealing and the more sinister world of his drug dealing family members. But there’s more to it than that as Saber is in unfortunate conflict with his crime lord father due to Saber trying too hard to expand which puts his cousin, the cunning money launderer Sofia (Nabha Akbari), in a position of having to mediate against her will. There will be more threats and gunfire, but it seems clear that survival is anything but assured. Everyone in Ganglands has something they are protecting, which means everyone is on high alert.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? While finalizing this post, I thought of AMC’s darkly ultraviolent Gangs of London. Regular, everyday civilians don’t seem to figure into the landscape of shows like Gangs and Ganglands they might be in the background here or there, but city streets and the larger law-abiding world don’t rate in the world these players operate in.
Med and Liana’s competing realities make a fascinating study. The clinical violence of one competes with the reckless abandon of the other, where every moment is a fatalistic gamble. This reality sets up the stories extremely well for the big play, like Ganglands, and especially when the first episode merges their individual realities into one violent circle. It is thrilling to watch the round one pros tweak the story to the best of their capabilities. My favorite character was once a beginner, but now he has mastered the art of circle composing, and Liana has done a wonderful job turning into an endowed professional. After tech grabbing the boodle and head m0 smashing her with five dudes outside and guns. Mehdi and Liana were so good attempting to work together over the hours, and in later installments, it was insane great for me. Widgets watching extremely bad people work together tends to brace my body, for at the end of the day, it doesn’t tend to matter. The amount of debate that circulates this universe of dark hustle on whether one is better than the other is absurd. This world is one scenario where the rules greatly change, and judging it from my angle, they are miles ahead of the dealers and thugs. At least they are trying to get rid of Shines.
The character development at the beginning of the story does feel stiff, and the writing is a bit cliché. Saber is one such character who, despite exhibiting potential dominance, has the demeanor of an immature novice. However, Beaujolai excels as the calm and intelligent Mehdi, a man well aware of how to use violence to achieve success. And Med and Gatos’s Liana is going to be a blast to watch on this glowering crime world journey with her character development.
It is as unassuming as it gets “If I die, what about my kids?” asks Mehdi’s buddy and fellow heister. “I think I’m out, and I think you should be, too.” I presume nobody is getting away, and death is supposed to be knocking on the door for some already as well.
STREAM IT. Ganglands is adequately masterful in stating how amoral its players are without compunction, and avoids a few tripwires with some powerful performances that are often underwhelming.
Johnny Loftus is a freelance author and editor based in the Chicago area. He has previously written for The Village Voice, The All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.
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