I just started binge watching this and so far so good, its OK except that the actors who play the gangsters dont really look like gangsters, they dont look tough or menacing at all.
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DIE, FANBOY, DIE
And yet they are tough, menacing and deadly.
Maybe that's the thing. The reality that exists beyond the usual trite casting. They may look like choirboys, but they act like cold-blooded killers.
After all, what does a murderer look like? Would you know one if you passed him/her on the street?
Yeah to me it was a non-issue. They eventually cast some uglier gangsters, but also what do you expect in film? Actors/actresses are generally better looking than the general public, so that's what you're going to get in a show.
shareFirst of all, hello, Nidge??? Nidge does not look like a low-life??? Excuse me??
Secondly, that's one of the differences between European and American productions. It doesn't always have to be in-your-face!!!
Yeah, these aren't Miami Vice-style gangsters. They're "street level" drug dealers and mid level criminals which exist in any large city.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-22600187
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And basketball players should only be black and ...
What does a gangster look like??
shareYou have to suspend your disbelief. From what I read in the papers and see on the news, our real life "gangsters" aren't the brightest bunch. They're ugly, illiterate and immoral. But that wouldn't make good TV - the gangsters in Love/Hate are good looking, bright, clever and witty. They have empathy, and some go through existential angst when they've had to kill someone.
They also seem to exist in a bubble - their "gangster" world seems to be populated by a small group of people. We never see the trickle-down (or up) of the money, the small cogs, the runners on the street, or who exactly they're dealing with and getting their money from.
They seem to spend all their time driving brazenly around the city, well known by the Guards (apart from the Bangarda who let two of them through a roadblock on Patrick's night), constantly partying noisily in the same pubs. I think you'll find that our real gangsters, thick and all as they are, prefer a "run silent, run deep" approach.
Having said all that, I'm binge-watching too and can't get enough of it.
No Guru, No Method, No Teacher.