The writer of an indie film starring Michelle Keegan - dubbed an 'awful Salford-set Shameless rip-off' - and slammed for its use of 'vile stereotypes' has defended the movie after it shot to number nine on Netflix's most viewed.
Chris Green, 55, from Lower Broughton, Salford, directed and wrote the 2018 dark comedy 'Strangeways Here We Come', which centres around a group of council-estate residents dealing with an ‘evil’ loan shark, played by Stephen Lord, and their plot to strike back.
Following its release, it received zero stars from the Times - and a one-star review by The Guardian, which described the film as an 'awful Salford-set Shameless rip-off'.
But four years later, despite the words of critics, the movie has started to enjoy success after appearing in Netflix's most viewed for the UK, reaching number nine. Michelle Keegan plays a timid-turned-murderous university student Demi. Other high-profile stars include Chanel Cresswell and Perry Fitzpatrick of This Is England, plus Misfits actor Lauren Socha.
Chris, who grew up in Lower Broughton, has defended the movie against suggestions that it was promoting degrading stereotypes of the working class. The plot was originally derived from his own experiences as a postman at Salford Precinct and was produced with a micro-budget of just a couple of hundred thousands pounds.
“I think [the critics] had this idea that I was this middle-class filmmaker coming into the area to exploit the working class”, he told the Manchester Evening News.
“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.”
Despite the struggles he experienced growing up, Chris, who now lives in Whitefield, expressed a lot of pride having come from the area.
“When [the film] came out, it was like putting Salford on the map,” he said. “At the end of the day, all those unsavoury characters who are a bit brutal, are part of a community. When the chips are down, like the Salford communities I remember, they all come together to help each other out.”
Unafraid to admit to his mistakes, however, Chris said: “When I came up with the idea, it was from a postman's point of view, but then it just expanded and went a bit crazy. There were far too many characters, this massive ensemble piece which was far too much to take on as a first film. But you live and learn.”
Chris has since gone on to write and direct The Pebble and the Boy in 2021. He also directed Me, Myself and Di, a comedy starring Larry Lamb released that same year and is the founder of Shout to the Top Productions.
Responding to its recent success, Chris said: “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.”
One IMDB user recently commented: “This is one of the better British comedy movies I’ve seen in recent times. It was pretty good. It had an interesting plot that we haven't actually seen before.”
And on Facebook, viewers showed their support, as one person called the movie “totally relatable and funny" as another wrote: “[The] characters were brilliant. Laughed my socks off.”
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