Tale of Irish women gangsters set for big screen

A MAJOR new Hollywood movie will explore the female gang leaders of The Westies, a ruthless Irish gang that ruled Hell’s Kitchen in Manhattan in the 1970s and 1980s.

The film, entitled The Kitchen, is being hailed as a first for putting women at the centre of a gangster movie. It follows their lives as murderers, loans sharks and gambling bosses after their husbands are jailed and put their wives in charge of running their operations.

As with previous Irish gangster films such as The Departed, The Kitchen will be seeking first generation Irish actors for extra work and some acting roles. New Line Cinema has begun development of the film, based on the ultra-violent crime comic The Kitchen, which draws heavily on the true story of Edna Coonan and other female gangsters in the Westies gang. Coonan was convicted of racketeering, including setting up a loan shark for murder. Other female members of the gang included Florence Collins, who was convicted of running gambling and loan sharking after her husband, Thomas, was indicted.

The film is also unusual for having a woman screenwriting and directing a gangster film. The Kitchen will be the directorial debut for Andrea Berloff, who was nominated for an Oscar for co-writing the 2015 biopic Straight Outta Compton. She also wrote Oliver Stone’s 2006 disaster film, World Trade Center.

The only actress so far confirmed for the film is Tiffany Haddish, pictured left, who is expected to play a female African American gangster operating in west Manhattan. Haddish is known for starring in the summer hit Girls Trip.

The Kitchen is expected to begin filming next year with a release date in 2019.