Oh, the shark has pearly teeth, dear. But Sean Bean doesn’t need to show his teeth.
He exudes such menace in every grizzled glare that any shark would turn tail and swim for its life.
Bean plays drugs kingpin Ronnie Phelan in This City Is Ours, a crime drama that takes the jazz standard Mack The Knife for its ominous theme music: ‘On the sidewalk lies a body oozing life…’
The city is Liverpool but Bean’s accent never wavers from its gritty Sheffield growl.
That voice has remained unchanged from Westeros in Game Of Thrones to Sharpe’s Napoleonic battlefields, and it always sounds right because the actor’s intimidating charisma makes it right.
Plus, it would take a suicidally brave director to suggest, ‘Sean, sweetie, can you give me a different accent, luv?’
Others in the cast play it impeccably Scouse, including Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson and Laura Aikman, last seen being jilted at the altar by Smithy in Gavin & Stacey.
Most Liverpudlian of the lot is the city itself, filmed with an affection that borders on reverence.
Sean Bean plays drugs kingpin Ronnie Phelan in This City Is Ours, a crime drama set in Liverpool
From the Catholic ‘wigwam’ cathedral, where a gangster prays for guidance before betraying his fellow crooks, to the ships on the Mersey, it’s framed like a travel brochure
From the Catholic ‘wigwam’ cathedral, where a gangster prays for guidance before betraying his fellow crooks, to the ships on the Mersey, it’s framed like a travel brochure.
James Nelson-Joyce, who hails from the Walton district, plays the central character, Michael. ‘It’s a love letter to Liverpool,’ he said last week.
‘It looks absolutely stunning. I hope the city watches it and it’s something they’re proud of.’
Like his namesake in The Godfather, Michael is the heir to a crime empire.
The eight-part series, now all available on iPlayer, opens on the golf course, where Ronnie is trying and failing to sink a long putt.
Then he quietly drops a hint that he’s thinking about retirement. All he wants is one big payday to bolster his pension.
But the boys on the course are watched by their womenfolk. The backstabbing among the gangsters is affectionate horseplay compared to the female infighting.
Most of the girls’ resentment is levelled at Diana (Hannah Onslow), Michael’s sweetheart. The two are very obviously in love, to the fury of the rest. ‘Do you like the way they hold hands, have you noticed?’ seethes one wife.
Others in the cast play it impeccably Scouse, including Derry Girls’ Saoirse-Monica Jackson (pictured) and Laura Aikman, last seen being jilted at the altar by Smithy in Gavin & Stacey
James Nelson-Joyce, who hails from the Walton district, plays the central character, Michael
There’s a secret grief for Michael and Diana, though. Desperate for a baby, they’ve been unable to conceive, and are about to start IVF. That isn’t something he discusses with the gang, of course.
Like Tony Soprano’s panic attacks or Walter White’s cancer diagnosis, there are some things a drugs baron prefers to keep to himself.
But everywhere he goes, Michael sees babies — even when he’s about to step out of his car with a handgun wrapped in clingfilm, to exterminate a ‘rat’.
Julie Graham plays Ronnie’s wife, Elaine. She’s the boss’s boss: ‘No phones at the dinner table, Ronnie,’ she orders. ‘We’re not Americans.’
‘No, we are not,’ he agrees meekly. Elaine has missed her calling. She should have been a shark-tamer.
Laughathon of the night
Ken Dodd: A Legacy Of Happiness (BBC2) celebrated the comedian from Knotty Ash in a 105-minute special.
Tonight on BBC4, there’s another 125 minutes of the star. That’s almost four hours . . . Doddy would have just been getting started.
