Post by Dirty Epic on Oct 28, 2015 13:41:58 GMT
As this has finally come out on a proper DVD – for the first time, I thought it appropriate to put a post about this late 90’s four-part series I really like and perhaps others on the forum might do to. Please bear in mind this post may contain spoilers.
Set in 1982-83 Robert Carlyle is excellent (arguably his best) in the title role of John Joe ‘jojo’ McCann a sharp minded petty criminal whose a well known face on the North Sighthill estate in Edinburgh. From a broken home with a damaged mother (Ellie Haddington), a dead alcoholic father and a juvenile offending past he’s taken under the wing of his uncle Charlie McCann (Ewan Stewart) a gangster-type who doles out ‘jobs’ to jojo and his mates/cohorts like Baz (Kevin McKidd) and ‘Big’ Danny (Michael Nardone) whist having a cosy relationship with the police, in particular CID detectives like DS Alistair Wright (Alexander Morton) which allows Charlie to use the likes of jojo as his pawns in his game.
Jojo’s been working alone when we pick up the story. After raiding a warehouse full of cigarette’s to sell to another Edinburgh criminal Davey Fenton (Tom McGovern) Charlie is angry and believes jojo isn’t onside with him. Meanwhile Charlie’s girlfriend Christine (Aline Mowat) is approached by Billy (Billy McColl) a face on the estate who works in a pharmaceutical plant and floats to Christine the idea of smuggling heroin out of the plant to sell to Charlie. Initially sceptical Charlie see’s potential in this scheme and has bargaining power with Billy who lives with his mother and is vulnerable. Charlie and Christine put together the idea of flooding the estate with smack. Charlie also wants to cut jojo out of the picture and puts the idea to his associates like Danny, Baz, Malcie (David McKay), ‘Thingme’ (Steven Duffy) and Carol (Mandy Matthews).
Charlie ‘grasses’ on jojo regarding a burglary he’s doing for him which see’s jojo remanded in custody around the same time smack takes hold on the estate. Prior to this jojo has got into a relationship with a Lorraine (Jenny McCrindle) a Marilyn Monroe obsessive who has got the prospect of work in London and has asked jojo to go with her. She claims to be a runaway from an institution but is actually the daughter of a prison officer Des (Ron Donachie) who jojo meets whilst on remand and knew Charlie and his father Jackie McCann (Billy McElhaney) when they both spent time in jail a few years earlier. Acquitted for the burglary jojo isn’t keen on a move to London and seeing the riches drug dealing is bringing to some on the estate – Danny particularly, wants a piece of the action.
However after initially not being keen on using smack jojo is eventually snared into drug use along with pretty much all of his friends/associates - except of Charlie. After Danny becomes too flash and is caught with a significant quantity of smack by the police Charlie realises jojo is the right man to drive the smack business forward for him and allows him to take over from Danny who eventually dies of an overdose. In turn jojo becomes a pariah on the estate due to his dealing activity which sees family members like his sister Tricia (Libby McArthur) rightfully/wrongfully targeted for his actions. As his addiction takes further hold jojo becomes increasingly paranoid and the quicksand of heroin makes him takes on rivals like Davey Fenton and alienates both his family and Lorraine who initially leaves him after witnessing his drug fuelled paranoia first hand albeit without violence. Jojo is also having delusions about his dead father and what happened to him which put him on the path of a showdown with Charlie which also draws in family and many of his drug addicted associates like Baz and Malcie also ravaged by contracting HIV due to sharing needles. In the end everyone is a victim in particular jojo.
Written by Irish writer Frank Deasy, directed by the late John McKenzie (The Long Good Friday) and having many cast members from Trainspotting and other Scottish film and television series, Looking After jojo is in my opinion a very realistic depiction of the heroin epidemics that swept through Edinburgh and many major UK cities in the 1980’s – unlike the romantic surrealism of smack that Trainspotting touches upon. Also unlike many 1980’s set drama’s Deasy and McKenzie show and understand the council estate mentality (scheme in this instance) that exists on estates like North Sighthill that became more entrenched from this period onwards. Gangs, criminals and drugs are seen as a way of life and even if they’re having an adverse effect on these communities there is an inherent sense of distrust of the police and outsiders who try and interfere with this ‘order’. Also perhaps being made in 1997 perhaps helped with this sense of realism I see in Looking After jojo as the 1980’s wasn’t quite seen with the fond nostalgia many now have for it and unlike many 1980’s set drama’s which show Britain as the land of milk and honey ‘me-decade’ it shows a different side I feel has been forgotten from that period and is perhaps still very much with us at the moment.
Carlyle is very much the star of the show here but all the cast and crew do a very good job and should be very proud of their effort here. It’s a very well acted/produced piece of television that isn’t that well known and RIP John McKenzie and Jenny McCrindle too. Also there's a very good soundtrack on this too mainly from The Jam but also Ultravox, Echo and the Bunnymen, Squeeze and Blondie but doesn't overpower the drama in the series.
Any thoughts.
Set in 1982-83 Robert Carlyle is excellent (arguably his best) in the title role of John Joe ‘jojo’ McCann a sharp minded petty criminal whose a well known face on the North Sighthill estate in Edinburgh. From a broken home with a damaged mother (Ellie Haddington), a dead alcoholic father and a juvenile offending past he’s taken under the wing of his uncle Charlie McCann (Ewan Stewart) a gangster-type who doles out ‘jobs’ to jojo and his mates/cohorts like Baz (Kevin McKidd) and ‘Big’ Danny (Michael Nardone) whist having a cosy relationship with the police, in particular CID detectives like DS Alistair Wright (Alexander Morton) which allows Charlie to use the likes of jojo as his pawns in his game.
Jojo’s been working alone when we pick up the story. After raiding a warehouse full of cigarette’s to sell to another Edinburgh criminal Davey Fenton (Tom McGovern) Charlie is angry and believes jojo isn’t onside with him. Meanwhile Charlie’s girlfriend Christine (Aline Mowat) is approached by Billy (Billy McColl) a face on the estate who works in a pharmaceutical plant and floats to Christine the idea of smuggling heroin out of the plant to sell to Charlie. Initially sceptical Charlie see’s potential in this scheme and has bargaining power with Billy who lives with his mother and is vulnerable. Charlie and Christine put together the idea of flooding the estate with smack. Charlie also wants to cut jojo out of the picture and puts the idea to his associates like Danny, Baz, Malcie (David McKay), ‘Thingme’ (Steven Duffy) and Carol (Mandy Matthews).
Charlie ‘grasses’ on jojo regarding a burglary he’s doing for him which see’s jojo remanded in custody around the same time smack takes hold on the estate. Prior to this jojo has got into a relationship with a Lorraine (Jenny McCrindle) a Marilyn Monroe obsessive who has got the prospect of work in London and has asked jojo to go with her. She claims to be a runaway from an institution but is actually the daughter of a prison officer Des (Ron Donachie) who jojo meets whilst on remand and knew Charlie and his father Jackie McCann (Billy McElhaney) when they both spent time in jail a few years earlier. Acquitted for the burglary jojo isn’t keen on a move to London and seeing the riches drug dealing is bringing to some on the estate – Danny particularly, wants a piece of the action.
However after initially not being keen on using smack jojo is eventually snared into drug use along with pretty much all of his friends/associates - except of Charlie. After Danny becomes too flash and is caught with a significant quantity of smack by the police Charlie realises jojo is the right man to drive the smack business forward for him and allows him to take over from Danny who eventually dies of an overdose. In turn jojo becomes a pariah on the estate due to his dealing activity which sees family members like his sister Tricia (Libby McArthur) rightfully/wrongfully targeted for his actions. As his addiction takes further hold jojo becomes increasingly paranoid and the quicksand of heroin makes him takes on rivals like Davey Fenton and alienates both his family and Lorraine who initially leaves him after witnessing his drug fuelled paranoia first hand albeit without violence. Jojo is also having delusions about his dead father and what happened to him which put him on the path of a showdown with Charlie which also draws in family and many of his drug addicted associates like Baz and Malcie also ravaged by contracting HIV due to sharing needles. In the end everyone is a victim in particular jojo.
Written by Irish writer Frank Deasy, directed by the late John McKenzie (The Long Good Friday) and having many cast members from Trainspotting and other Scottish film and television series, Looking After jojo is in my opinion a very realistic depiction of the heroin epidemics that swept through Edinburgh and many major UK cities in the 1980’s – unlike the romantic surrealism of smack that Trainspotting touches upon. Also unlike many 1980’s set drama’s Deasy and McKenzie show and understand the council estate mentality (scheme in this instance) that exists on estates like North Sighthill that became more entrenched from this period onwards. Gangs, criminals and drugs are seen as a way of life and even if they’re having an adverse effect on these communities there is an inherent sense of distrust of the police and outsiders who try and interfere with this ‘order’. Also perhaps being made in 1997 perhaps helped with this sense of realism I see in Looking After jojo as the 1980’s wasn’t quite seen with the fond nostalgia many now have for it and unlike many 1980’s set drama’s which show Britain as the land of milk and honey ‘me-decade’ it shows a different side I feel has been forgotten from that period and is perhaps still very much with us at the moment.
Carlyle is very much the star of the show here but all the cast and crew do a very good job and should be very proud of their effort here. It’s a very well acted/produced piece of television that isn’t that well known and RIP John McKenzie and Jenny McCrindle too. Also there's a very good soundtrack on this too mainly from The Jam but also Ultravox, Echo and the Bunnymen, Squeeze and Blondie but doesn't overpower the drama in the series.
Any thoughts.
