LOVE/HATE ACTOR John Connors stars in the new film Cardboard Gangsters which follows the story of his character Jay Connolly, a DJ and low-level drug dealer in Darndale, an area victimized by drugs and cyclical social problems.

With a pregnant girlfriend and a family in debt, Jay turns to upping the stakes by selling heroin when he is cut off from his social welfare payments. He does this in hopes of earning enough to pay off his debts and move himself and his girlfriend to Spain.

As you’d expect, this doesn’t go very smoothly. It’s not long before his activity is picked up on by local drug kingpin Derra Murphy who’s eager to eliminate any rivals or threats to his business.

The extremely fast paced trailer looks like a Grand Theft Auto game set in Darndale – chainsaws, drugs, shotguns and scramblers. Yet the story takes a lot of inspiration from John Connors’ real life.

Film Ireland point out that “Connors engaging performance is a clear result of his personal connection to the material”, and that is even evident in the trailer. John Connors doesn’t come across as some kind of cheesy action movie star chasing money, power and glory. As the clip below shows, his performance looks completely genuine.

The soundtrack consists of only Irish artists and also features Damien Dempsey in a short speaking role. It also features a performance by Kierston Wareing, who has starred in Eastenders as Kirsty Branning and played pregnant cannabis farmer Heather in the gritty London drama Top Boy.

Kierston Wareing Ian West Ian West

You may also recognize Fionn Walton of What Richard Did and Pierce Brosnan’s movie I.T. which gained attention recently due to the fact that it was supposed to be set in Washington D.C., but was filmed on parts of UCD’s campus.

Cardboard Gangsters has had a fantastic critical reception. The film won three awards at the Manchester Film Festival: John Connors won the award for Best Actor, the film itself won both Best Feature Film and Film of the Festival.

Filmed in only 16 days in Darndale in 2015, Cardboard Gangsters is highly recommended by Film Ireland, has scored 8/10 on IMDB and garnered a huge turn out at the Galway Film Fleadh. For anybody mourning the loss of Love/Hate, you only have to wait until the 16th of June.

DailyEdge is on Snapchat! Tap the button below to add!