Transposing of mice and men, John Steinbeck’s Great Depression novella, to an equally depressing modern-day setting was a brilliant idea, but something’s lost in translation. Stephen Graham is a chancer in hock to gangster David O’Hara; Adewale Akinnuoye-Abaje plays his child-like cohort, whom O’Hara wants for his illegal boxing ring.
These bouts aren’t the only heavy-handed moments, however – the treatment of Akinnuoye- Abaje and new love Maxine Peake’s learning disabilities make for an uneven if honourable attempt at updating a literary landmark.
