As part of a new series on the very best of true crime, this first post takes a deep dive into bestselling author & journalist T.J. English’s non-fiction masterpiece.
The Westies isn’t just another great true crime novel, it is THE great true crime novel. No disrespect to Truman Capote and his genre-giant, In Cold Blood, but English’s social history of the Irish gang who once reigned over New York City’s Hell’s Kitchen has greater scope, is more harrowing, and amongst others of its kind, has yet to be equaled.
Good morning, gentlemen. Nice day for a murder.
Jimmy Cagney, Angels With Dirty Faces.
So begins T.J. English’s epic gangland chronicle of The Westies, “Inside The The Irish Mob.” Though it reads like a taut thriller, this is non-fiction.
From the author’s official site:
Homage or rip-off? The problem with State of Grace & Sleepers:
Director Phil Joanou’s 1990 Irish mob drama, State of Grace, will no doubt feel familiar to readers of The Westies. A little too familiar.
As “Jackie Flannery,” the greasy, charismatic, tortured, alcoholic, and homicidal Irish hood, Gary Oldman is clearly playing a version of Mickey Featherstone.
Like Featherstone, Jackie is highly volatile, quick on the trigger, and loyal to a fault, both to his childhood best friend – now an under-cover cop (played by Sean Penn) sent back to the old neighborhood to investigate him – and to his big brother, Terry (Ed Harris), the leader of his gang.
Even the names betray the source of inspiration. “Mickey” became “Jackie.” “Jimmy” became “Terry.” Considering the degree to which Joanou and screenwriter Dennis MacIntyre seem to have modeled their characters on the figures in English’s book, you have to wonder why they even bothered changing their names.
Like Jimmy Coonan, Terry Flannery is a cold, calculating killer and master manipulator who exploits his younger brother’s addiction to alcohol and propensity for violence, as Jimmy did Mickey’s, to further his own personal gains.
In an Interview Magazine article featuring Oldman and Joanou, writer Randy Sue Coburn met the actor and director, respectively, in Hell’s Kitchen’s Landmark Tavern, and the conversation quickly turned to English.
At this point both men claim not to have read The Westies, which, if you have read the book, and then seen their film, stretches credulity.
Take this for what you will: If you Google “Is State of Grace based on The Westies?” Their AI Overview provides this answer:
But perhaps the greater offender is Lorenzo Carcatera’s novel, Sleepers, and, by extension, Barry Levinson’s 1996 film adaptation of the same name.
Ask Google the same question about Sleepers and you will get this answer:
Accusations that the film stole from The Westies may be unfair. After all, the screenplay was adapted from the controversial memoir/novel of the same name by Lorenzo Carcaterra. As Sean Penn said to the judge in Carlito’s Way: “This is a classic ‘fruit of the poisoned tree’ situation.”
The controversy over where Sleepers’ author, Lorenzo Carcaterra, got his story from seems to have been ignited by the November 3rd, 1996 NY Daily News article: He Must Have Been A Pretenda.
The article questions whether or not the supposedly non-fiction book is truly inspired by events from the author’s own abusive childhood, as he and his publishers claimed, or if perhaps he stole some of it from a certain little book about The Westies.
I think what he’s done is take bits and pieces of information from my book, though he’s known about some people and events from the neighborhood, and then grafted it onto some version of his life story.
TJ English, Daily News
Other publications picked up the story and ran with it, prompting a larger conversation about the nature of truth in “true stories.”
So, what about an official adaptation of The Westies? Many have tried and failed to bring tbe book to the screen.
Not even a cinematic giant like legendary American filmmaker Martin Scorsese (this site’s favourite) was successful in his attempt to mount The Westies as a feature drama.
I asked English about the possibility of ever seeing a Westies movie, and he wrote: “There have been so many development ups and downs over the decades, with different people, that I can’t begin to encapsulate it here. Currenty producers do own the rights and, I’m told, are working on setting it up as a series. Personlly, I think it’s too late now. The story has been borrowed from so much, the material is no longer fresh. The movie or series would be loaded with cliches. If it never gets made, I’m okay with that. I don’t come from a frame of mind where a book has to be made into a movie to have value. In fact, I’m pretty sure a movie/series wopuld only diminish the legacy of the book.”
He also wrote that, “Normally I don’t even repond to movie adaptation comments or questions. You’ve already gotten more out of me than anybody.” So, I consider myself particularly lucky that he went on to write, with some cautious optimism: “There are many talented young filmmakers who could do great things with it. It’s always a question of getting the budget. Movies are so expensive to make and promote.”
It’s a frustrating process that English continues to endure with his other books as well. In that same exchange over a Westies movie, English shared some of his travails in seeing his great Havana Nocturne to the screen: “Most authors go through it. Very fews books transition smoothly from page to screen. Its not how that biz works. I’m going through it right now with Havana Nocturne, which is a no-brainer as a movie or series (it’s being developed as a series). But its been 12 yrs in development so far. I try not to get emotionally involved, because it’s so frustrating.”
Scorsese already made his Irish mob movie with Best Picture Oscar-winner, The Departed (2006), so he’s unlikely to return to English’s classic. but the challenge remains open to any of those “talented young filmmakers” English refers to. Who among us has the sand to climb this particular mountain?
What the critics said:
Read Selwyn Raab’s full 1990 New York Times review here:
Skull Fragments:
I’m not exaggerating when I say that I survived the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic in no small part thanks to English’s phenomenal podcast, Skull Fragments.
I wrote to English on the possibility of a second season. He replied: “It’s been a problem getting studio space, and getting people into a studio, during the pandemic. And since I’m insisting on doing the interviews live, in studio, not on the phone, this has been a problem. I do have a couple in the can, but I can’t post them until we have a full season of six. Plus I’m hard at work on a new book. So I don’t know when or if this is ever going to come together.”
Well, sir, that’s not a “no.” And with a couple “already in the can,” I’m holding out hope. The pandemic may be over, but the need for this kind of thought provoking, highly empathetic, curious, deep dive into the personalities and works of such a fascinating series of individuals only increases with time. If I suddenly find myself in charge of Spotify, or Apple, or some other commissioner of podcasts, my first act would be to order up a 2nd season, and pray for a 3rd. I’m not currently in the running for any of those positions, but prayer is free, so I think I’ll bend a knee, bow my head, clasp my hands, and keep on hoping.
Purchase the book:
