The first pics of Jude Law in the upcoming submarine thriller BLACK SEA have appeared online, featuring a more robust and grizzled version of the actor, much like his character from DOM HEMINGWAY (review here). It seems like Law is making a grab for the strong male lead roles that usually define guys like Russell Crowe or Gerard Butler and that's not such a bad thing at all, especially for an actor that was labeled as mostly a waifish pretty boy early on. BLACK SEA director Kevin Macdonald (THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND) wasn't convinced of Law initially either, as he relayed to EW.
“I wanted somebody in their middle age and who was British and who could convincingly be a blue-collar guy. If you look around Hollywood, there aren’t very many who look like that and certainly not stars. I went to see him thinking ‘well Jude Law is great, but he’s not really him."
However, Law has taken to "uglying up" for roles in the past and he approached "the role of an embittered and unemployed former Navy man" by adopting "an Aberdeen accent, put on weight, built up his forearms and shoulders, shaved his head and let the stubble grow out." It seems that was enough to let Macdonald know that he had his lead.
In Black Sea, Law’s character Robinson is definitely down on his luck. He’s been kicked out of the British Navy. He loses his job at marine salvage, too. But then, Robinson discovers a Russian U-boat that he believes to contain Russian gold sent to Hitler as a bribe — and he has his mission.
Macdonald wants to make a submarine film "in the vein of Run Silent, Run Deep and Das Boot, saying:
“They’re incredibly tense, exciting films because of the claustrophobia and the sense that you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be. Like in space, if something goes wrong, you’re dead."
Macdonald elaborates on the plot, saying that it's a reaction to the economy and the state of skilled laborers:
“It’s about those people fighting back, the people who have been laid off and lost their jobs and blamed the big corporations and blame the establishment and the political system for the sh– lives that they’ve got,” Macdonald explained. “This is a way not only to get revenge but to get rich.”
The last good submarine thriller that comes to mind for me is Tony Scott's CRIMSON TIDE, so I guess we're about due for another one. I like that Law is in the lead more than anything, as I think he's got real potential in these kinds of roles, rather than the light and fluffy romcoms that he seemed destined for.
BLACK SEA is set to debut sometime in 2014.