By Greg David
The Canadian writer/director - and Oscar winner - spins the tale of brothers living the hard life in gritty New York City
He ain't heavy, he's my brother: The Black Donnellys |
Screenwriter Paul Haggis is currently famous for penning Million Dollar Baby and Crash, two back-to-back best picture Oscar winners, but he's got a history in television - he's the fellow behind tough-guy Chuck Norris' Walker, Texas Ranger and EZ Streets.
Tonight, Haggis returns to TV with the crime drama The Black Donnellys, which he co-created with Crash collaborator Bobby Moresco.
For Haggis, the show revisits a "story that haunted me in my youth." The real-life Donnellys were a family from Lucan, Ontario - 40 miles from Haggis's hometown of London - murdered by their neighbours in 1880.
But don't look for any literal parallels to Canadian history. "It has an emotional truth we wanted to use," Haggis says during a conference call with TV critics. "We both thought the Canadian story was intriguing, but it's not a literal title. We played with themes that came out in the real-life story. We deal with a level of tolerance that happened back then, where the community decided who the good and bad people were. And the good people slaughtered the bad people. That speaks to what we're doing here, dealing with criminals and murderers, and the community is part of that. Will they turn against these boys?"
The ensemble cast includes Tom Guiry (Mystic River), Billy Lush (Huff), Jonathan Tucker (The Deep End) and Michael Stahl-David (Uncle Nino) as the Donnelly brothers; Keith Nobbs (Law & Order) plays Joey Ice Cream, who serves as narrator to the boys' exploits, which includes forays into organized crime.
Of course, Joey's as ambiguous as his cohorts - he's a pathological liar. "We wanted to play with the idea that you couldn't trust your narrator," Haggis says. "He believes the truth he's telling. But is he protecting [the brothers with his story], or is he damning them?"
The Black Donnellys has been a labour of love for Haggis and Moresco, one they've been nurturing for 10 years - it was written immediately after the failure of their critically-acclaimed EZ Streets, a 1996 drama which starred Ken Olin, Joe Pantoliano and Debrah Farentino battling for control of an unnamed city.
"This was a follow-up to EZ Streets," Haggis says.
"I shared my stories with Paul," Moresco explains, though he's quick to point out that Donnellys is not an autobiography. "I had five brothers, and lived the Irish existence in Hells' Kitchen. I always thought about how the people you love can do monstrous things. My father was a longshoreman. You could either work the docks, become a criminal, or head to Broadway. That's what I did. I did some acting work, and then got into writing."
But CBS passed on Donnellys in 1996, with Haggis recalling how the network told him "No one wants to see a continuing story over 22 episodes," he says, chuckling. "Then along came 24, and now that's all anyone wants."
Like The Black Donnellys, EZ Streets presented morally grey characters the viewing audience wasn't sure they should love or hate. NBC picked up Donnellys after The Sopranos and similar shows such as Rescue Me and The Shield proved audiences could like anti-heroes. Perhaps not coincidentally, this was also after Haggis acquired two Oscars and a heap of praise.
The duo love their young cast, referring to them as "brave," when it comes to playing these rough and tumble siblings who can be sharing a laugh one minute and trading punches the next.
"They make me feel old, fat and bald," Haggis says with a laugh.
The Black Donnellys, Mondays, 10 p.m. ET, Global/NBC
Published: Monday, February 26, 2007