London in RocknRolla

Guy Ritchie has had two hit films. The first, 1998’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels was set in London. 2000’s follow-up Snatch was also set in London. Spot the similarity. Now after an ill-fated jaunt to the Mediterranean for Swept Away and the Isle of Man for Revolver, Ritchie is not only back in his home town with his fifth screen offering, RocknRolla – he’s made it the star of his show.

Living in England’s capital, Ritchie realised that the city he called home was very different now than it was a generation before. “It became conspicuous to me that London had changed,” he reveals in an interview with Empire magazine. “I mean we have hotels like the one we’re in now [the Charlotte Street Hotel], and we wouldn’t have had hotels like this 15 years ago. Likewise, food in London is pretty sophisticated, and the standard of service is pretty sophisticated. Football became the biggest thing ever. I wanted to make a comment.”

This comment on the ever-changing landscape of London is one close to Ritchie’s heart: “I was born there and I’ve seen it change and I know a great deal about it. I’m invested,” he explains. But stepping back from his personal attachment, Ritchie appreciated that London’s status was changing on an international level. “RocknRolla is really about the consequences of London becoming an international phenomenon,” he adds. “London is in the middle of the world in the sense that it’s often the last place you go on your way to America, and it’s the first place you arrive before you get to Europe.”

Ritchie noted that this tide of change was most evident in the property sector, with construction and development becoming big business. “If you go to the top of any tall building [in London], all you can see are cranes,” he describes. “It looks as though the cranes are breeding. And property prices continue to rocket. It goes without saying that because there’s so much money involved, there are a lot of people taking advantage of the situation.”

Stepping up to “take advantage” are Ritchie’s customary underworld types, from crime kingpins to small-time players, each out to exploit the boom for themselves. But while this neatly nestles RocknRolla in Ritchie’s comfort zone, this time there’s a new presence – big money from the Eastern Bloc. “I wanted to take a humorous look at the consequences of the new school pushing in on the territory of the old school,” he summarises.