A beautiful country with fine wines, sparkling limpid seas and some of the most dangerous animals on the planet – there are many things for which Australia is famous in the popular imagination but a brutal and bloody gang culture is not one of them. ‘Underbelly’ comes crashing in to correct this mistake, for while Melbourne’s answer to ‘The Sopranos’ is as stylish, convoluted and bloody as its New Jersey brethren it is also based firmly in reality, relating the series of events that unfolded in the city during the gangland wars of 1995 – 2004.
Indeed, so close to the bone is ‘Underbelly’ that the series was subject to a series of legal injunctions from individuals portrayed in its episodes and from Victoria’s director of public prosecutions. To this day several characters cannot even be named while it will be interesting to see Underbelly’s future in the state since one of its major players returned to Australia after a lengthy sojourn overseas in order to face trial.
The basis, both for the gangland wars and the series, is the growing rivalry between the Carlton Crew, an established organised crime outfit and Carl Williams, a former Carlton Crew driver who became a key figure in Melbourne’s burgeoning ecstasy trade. As with ‘The Sopranos’, Underbelly’s main interest is in the criminals’ stories. The usual themes of loyalty, betrayal and hubris are played out to the full with a cast of lowlifes, psychos and gangsters such as Graham “The Munster” Kinniburgh, a Lou Carpenter-esque retired bank robber; Lewis Caine, a gym-junkie ex-con who ends up sleeping with his defence lawyer; and “Black Prince of Lygon Street” Alphonse Gangitano, who kills a friend over AUS$1500 (£700) then has to pay some AUS$30,000 to get the witnesses out of the country.
The cops, by comparison are cardboard cut-outs, and despite all the gloss and fancy editing of this clearly CSI-influenced production, there’s something old-fashioned about ‘Underbelly’. There’s a clear line between the good guys and the bad guys, which is notable as police corruption was a live issue during this period, something acknowledged only in a throwaway reference over a couple of episodes. This is rather insidious given accusations that the police actively allowed the gang war to go ahead in order to thin out the ranks of organised crime. On screen we see the usual square-jawed coppers, working 24/7 to end the violence, though it’s difficult to deny that, even in this fantasised form, they achieve little and many more of the loose ends are tied up by a hail of bullets than by an arrest.
This leads in to another touchy issue, that of the fictionalisation of real events. As with ‘Goodfellas’ the “based on a true story epithet” is a double-edged sword, lending authenticity but raising questions whenever creative licence is taken. For non-Melbournians this is less of an issue. There is an element of distance such that we can appreciate both the real and the dramatic without letting the latter detract from the former. In addition it should be emphasised that the core of Underbelly is completely true. There was a vicious escalation of gangland violence in Melbourne, this violence was rooted in the actions of one man who felt betrayed by his previous employers, and the people shown as being killed, were killed (though the exact detail of who perpetrated these murders may owe more to informed speculation than established fact).
If the history is a bit questionable, how is the drama? The show benefits from its self-contained nature. While the makers are producing a second series, this will be a largely tangential prequel, telling of the growth of Victoria’s drug trade in the 80s and 90s. ‘Underbelly’ has a clear beginning, middle and end and within that structure it paints a compelling and detailed picture of the personalities of Melbourne’s underworld. The strongest stuff comes early, as we see the mistakes, the slights, the insults that will erupt into explosive violence. Despite his slobby, larrikin exterior, Carl Williams is an Australian Tony Montana, a creature of raw cunning who slips under the radar of his gangster bosses and eventually usurps them. At its best the storytelling is akin to ‘The Wire’, with Williams as Marlowe to the Stringer and Avon of the Moran brothers – the Carlton Crew’s top hard men. However, once Williams is established there is nowhere else to go and the series runs out of steam with a good few episodes left. His fall is not spectacular enough to match the events of his rise.
The harsher verdict might be that, once the viewer gets used to the verbal tics and other peculiarities of the Australian underworld, there is ultimately little to distinguish ‘Underbelly’ from any quality America crime drama. There is an element of truth to this, and a lot of the show’s appeal comes from its basis in reality and the distinctive setting, rather than anything unique in its nature. But why should this be a bad thing? ‘Underbelly’ borrows shamelessly from the best – and it is worth repeating that a lot of plot points that may seem familiar enjoy the excuse of having actually happened. It’s gripping (for the most part), the performances are universally compelling and the story it relates is a fascinating and murky one. If that’s not good enough for you well, frankly you’re just a rooting dog mate.
