Aristocracy arethe original gangsters
From The Sopranos to Peaky Blinders, we love to see gangsters on screen – but what if those criminals were actually the British aristocracy?
That is the question director Guy Ritchie asks in new Netflix series The Gentlemen, inspired by his 2019 film of the same name.
It stars White Lotus actor Theo James, pictured above, as Eddie Horniman, a young aristocrat who unexpectedly inherits his father’s country estate, only to discover it’s part of a cannabis empire, and his riches were actually obtained rather insidiously.
Returning army officer Eddie initially wants to extricate himself from this criminal underworld, but as the show goes on, the allure of the gangster lifestyle only grows.
Eddie is “a moral man” who never believes he will fall into the gangster lifestyle, James, 39, says.
“But by the end, he is totally seduced and overcome by it.”
James was particularly taken by this idea of the upper classes playing just as dirty as run-of-the-mill criminals.
“The aristocracy are the original gangsters, in the sense that they set up a system where they could control wealth intergenerationally,” he says.
And there is a reason the gangster genre is so beloved, James suggests.
“I think we all love the idea of bending the law to our will – and also ascension stories are really interesting. The idea of coming from nothing and building yourself up to status in a way. That’s what Guy (Ritchie) is saying – to be pretentious about it, because it’s essentially a fun show.
“But the idea that the infrastructure and architecture of gangster crime families isn’t that different from high society. That’s why they call the royal family ‘The Firm’, don’t they – it’s the same kind of idea.”
Skins star Kaya Scodelario, who plays crime boss Susie Glass in The Gentlemen, says Britain’s obsession with class is central to the show.
“The class system in the UK is so fundamentally British, it’s such a part of the fabric of our society and it goes back as long as time,” she explains.
“It’s the idea of exploring who the real gangster is, each side is judging the other, when in reality, they’re on an even keel.”
The Gentlemen comes to Netflix on March 7.