Interview: Martin Law On His Bruising, Powerful New Film Reputation
To celebrate the release of Reputation, out now on digital download, we had the pleasure of chatting to its director, Martin Law, to find out more.
Following his shining performance in the hit TV series A Thousand Blows, one-to-watch actor James Nelson-Joyce (This City Is Ours, Black Mirror) captivates in Reputation – a raw and unflinching portrayal of a working-class drug dealer who begins to question his life choices when an old friend is released from prison.
Inspired by Shane Meadows’ Dead Man’s Shoes and Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher trilogy, the film is a powerful exploration into loyalty, greed, survival and toxic masculinity, set against the backdrop of Dennings, a fictional town in Lancashire.
From director Martin Law in his feature debut, this gritty British independent crime drama features stellar performances from James Nelson-Joyce, Kyle Rowe (The Devil’s Hour, Those About to Die) and Olivia Frances Brown (The Gathering, Archie). Following its premiere at the Spirit of Independence Film Festival and a wealth of critical acclaim, Reputation is set to arrive on UK digital on 28 July from Miracle Media.
Two years after the tragic shooting of a child, the town of Dennings is still reeling from the devastating event. Now, the streets are plagued with a new drug, ‘clown’, and with more and more residents getting hooked, local dealer Wes (Nelson-Joyce) is cashing in on their addiction. Since his pal Tommy (Rowe) was carted off to the slammer, Wes has been left in charge of his drug empire… but now Tommy is out of prison and back with bigger aspirations than ever, hoping to scale up and scale out.
Despite countless warnings from his father (Kru Lundy – Sober, The Capture) and fiancé (Frances Brown) to stay away, Wes is drawn into Tommy’s schemes and although he tries to stay out of trouble, for the sake of his family, especially his baby Vinnie, ties to his friend run deep and he’s once again pulled in deep. Tommy’s behaviour becomes increasingly erratic and aggressive, and as tensions rise between the pair, Wes attempts to cut ties, but the harder he tries to get out, the more his partner holds on, refusing to back down. Can Wes get back on the straight and narrow, or is Tommy’s grip on him too strong?
Reputation means everything, and it might just cost Wes everything. Shane A. Bassett asks the questions.
You can watch the interview below:
Reputation is on digital download now.
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