Lenny McClean is remembered differently depending on which generation you belong to. Those around in the 70s saw him as a skilled bare-knuckle boxer. Those in the late 90s saw him star in Guy Richie’s Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Those around in the 60s were scared stiff as they heard tales and saw for themselves the rage and animalistic side of the man from Hoxton that was known as The Guv’nor.
Jamie McClean, Lenny’s son, fronts the new documentary about and named after his dad, also named The Guv’nor. Jamie explores his father’s story from his abusive upbringing to his local and then national fame by traveling back to locations of the stories he and his other family and friends tell about the infamous hard man. The documentary is made up of a delightfully balanced mix of old footage (wonderfully crystal clear), talking heads, and on location filming. The editing is punchy, fun, and edgy, perfectly suited to the man of the hour.
While the film isn’t all sunshine and butterflies, which is to be expected, it does have a sentimental and touching tone. Lenny’s dark days aren’t forgotten by any means, though. In fact, harrowing stories from these days are what makes up the first act of the doc, an interesting move for people first visiting this figure in this much detail. Surprisingly, the grisly stories told of him biting someone’s jugular or even their nose off are told with a light-hearted expression.
Not only Jamie but a few other friends and family had a lot of nice things to say about Lenny. Without denying the latter end of his life’s achievements from being London’s favourite bouncer to having a best-selling book, the perspective from which this doc is shown from may not be accepted as completely balanced, especially being led by a very supportive and loving son. This is not to say that any of the touching, personal stories of Lenny’s humour and positive role as a father were exaggerated or even untrue, but if a documentary about Lenny’s wild, unruly, criminal days is what you’re after, this isn’t it. However, this film is definitely one to be seen regardless, as it defies a lot of expectations, it’s thoughtful and full of life, much like The Guv’nor himself.
The Guv’nor, opens wide in Greater London Cinemas 7th October and on DVD, Blu-ray & Digital 10th October.
