“My Beautiful Laundrette” The problems of the coming modern world reflected in London in the 1980s

Daniel Day-Lewis' raw brilliance

Daniel Day-Lewis, a newcomer to acting on stage and television in the 1980s, was dissatisfied with the stereotypical middle-class roles he received at the time. Through his agent, he read the script for ``My Beautiful Laundrette'' and fell in love with the role of Johnny. "It was the first role I really wanted to play," he said. It seems that he thought this was his first role where he could play the deep parts of his personality that he had not been able to show before.

At the time, the candidates for the role were Tim Roth, who Frears had previously used in ``Elegy'' (1984), and Gary Oldman, who he would use in the next `` Prick Up .'' . All three were considered talented new actors from the London stage. Compared to Ross and Oldman, who could naturally express working-class vibes, Day-Lewis was at a disadvantage, having grown up wealthy as the son of a poet laureate. So he reportedly sent a threatening letter to the Friars director saying, ``If you don't get this role, dangerous people will come to pay your respects!''

Also, when I met the director, I spoke in a working-class, downtown accent, like the young South London punks in which the film is set. The director apparently wondered, ``How could the son of the Poet Laureate speak like that?'', but his appeal was recognized and he was eventually cast in the role of Johnny.

Immediately after this film, he appeared in `` A Room with a View '' (1985), playing the role of an aristocrat living in the world of books. With his elegant appearance and accent, he is the complete opposite of Johnny. The two films were released on the same day in New York, and Day-Lewis' stock skyrocketed due to the surprise. Since then, he has been called a chameleon actor. His performances in both films were recognized, and he won the New York Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor that year.

In any case, he is perfectly capable of playing the role. There are countless strange episodes surrounding him. When he played a young Mohican man in ` `The Last of the Mohicans '' (1992), he hunted in the forest just like the main character, and even held his matchlock when he slept. In ` `The Age of Innocence '' (1993), he roamed the streets of New York dressed in the clothes of an old aristocrat, just like his character. In `` Lincoln ,'' even when the cameras weren't rolling, he had people call him ``Mr. President!'' When she played the role of a designer in Phantom Thread , she learned enough sewing skills to make her own dresses.

And in ``My Beautiful Laundrette,'' he completely assumed the role of downtown Johnny (?) even before filming began, and even sent a threatening letter to the director to fully imitate his role.

Although Johnny is a young punk with his hair dyed a little blonde, he also has an elegance that makes him the "downtown prince." He used to be a thug and did rough things, but now he silently endures even when his friends beat him up for the sake of his beloved childhood friend. She plays a role that combines strength and kindness with a charismatic presence (her stance is simply beautiful!).

Omar, who plays his partner, is Gordon Warnek, a new Indian actor who went on to appear in films such as ``London Kills Me'' (1991), directed by Hanif Qureshi. The role of Omar's uncle is played by Saeed Jeffrey, a former TV star who was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Supporting Role. Roshan Seth, who appeared in films such as `` Gandhi '' (1982), plays the father.

Shirley Anne Field, who previously appeared in Karel Reiss's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (60), will play the role of her uncle's glamorous mistress. When he was a rookie, the Friars worked with legendary managers from the 1960s who were known as the "angry young men," such as Karel Reiss and Lindsay Anderson, so they probably chose Shirley as an homage to them.

A movie that predicted the current era