Well, that answers the question as to why The Departed scripter William Monahan’s London Boulevard has taken so long to get to the big screen. The just released international trailer for the film is basically selling a so-so underworld gangster flick that’s light around the edges with a bit of a dark undercurrent. It looks like it’s one of those films that’s not too bad, not too good, just about middle ground and good for a Netflix Instant Play, but not exactly something a major distributor is going to jump on, hence the reason it doesn’t have a domestic distributor yet. Hell, it was still in post as of September 20 and that was five months after GK Films said it was in “the final stages of post production.”
London Boulevard stars Colin Farrell will as a South London criminal who, after release from prison, tries to give up the gangster life by becoming a handyman for a reclusive young actress (Knightley). The film co-stars Ray Winstone, David Thewlis, Anna Friel, Matt King, Stephen Graham, Eddie Marsan, Jamie Campbell-Bower, Ben Chaplin, Sanjeev Baskhar and Ophelia Lovibond and is currently set for a November 26 release in the UK, but a domestic release isn’t so clear.
Recently GK Films head honcho Graham King teamed with former Apparition leader Bob Berney and President of GK Films, Peter Schlessel, to form FilmDistrict, a multi-faceted acquisition, distribution, production, and financing company. At the time of creation it was unclear as to whether this new arm would actually release London Boulevard in the States along with another up-in-the-air title, Johnny Depp’s The Rum Diary. Signs point to both films being released next year, but there’s no official confirmation.
Either way, the film must be completed on some level to now have a trailer and an international release date. Give the preview a watch below and let me know your impression in the comments.
