Bumbling crooks: Brothers Dovi (Emmanuel Castis, above left) and Justin (Carl Beukes) are drawn haphazardly into murder in The Shakedown. (Coco van Oppens)
Cape Town-based crime comedy The Shakedown is Amazon Prime Video’s first ever South African original film.
“I’ve always loved the genre of crime comedy,” says its writer and director Ari Kruger during an interview with the Mail & Guardian. “So it was a huge honour to be the first production company to be commissioned by Amazon to make a feature. I am eternally grateful that they green-lit this crazy project and that it now exists in the world.”
Crime comedies such as Guy Ritchie’s Snatch, the Coen Brothers’ films, and recent Australian films, have had a big influence on his tone and style for this project, adds Kruger.
“I similarly have had a fascination with the South African underworld, which is a treasure trove of absurd stories, larger-than-life characters, and clumsy hits gone wrong,” he says. “I felt like there was an opportunity to explore the danger of our underworld through a more comedic lens and hopefully offer audiences something fun and fresh.”
Shot over six weeks last year between June and July, The Shakedown not only offers great visual craftsmanship but is a dangerously funny flick. The film centres on a medical aid broker, Justin (Carl Beukes), who gets mixed up in the Cape Town underworld after his mistress threatens to reveal the secret of their affair.
Like his role in 2010’s comedy Jozi, Beukes’s easy abilities to portray a zippy character is great to see on screen. In The Shakedown, we follow Justin on a series of hilarious misadventures trying to maintain his golden boy reputation.
In the opening scene, for instance, plans are hatched to chop up a body to get rid of evidence. To fix his mishaps Justin seeks street solutions from his small-time gangster brother Dovi (Emmanuel Castis).
Casting the two lead brothers was difficult but fruitful, Kruger tells me. “For Justin, I needed a leading man who could do comedy as well as bring likeability to an unlikable character. It was a huge win when Carl auditioned and an even bigger one when I discovered that Carl and Emmanuel were old friends.
“They had a natural chemistry which they brought to the screen which was everything, and more than I hoped it would be.”
To help his brother, Dovi summons his inane henchmen duo, Clinton and Mickey, to carry out the “shakedown”. A case of mistaken identity and barking up the wrong gangster family tree, their plan offers viewers a thrill and comedic experience.
Ari Kruger directed The Shakedown. (Coco van Oppens)
Kruger says he had previously shot a short film called Waiting for Goldman, which features the same characters, Mickey and Clinton.
“David Isaacs played Clinton, so I invited him back to play the role. When the original actor of Mickey became unavailable, I offered the role to rapper Jack Parow, who I knew from having directed some of his music videos and also knew him to be funny.” The role of Justin’s wife Natalie is played by Julia Anastasopoulos. In this film, Anastasopoulos shows an acting range different from her popular characters Suzelle and Tali.
“I cast Julia in the role of Justin’s wife Natalie because she’s not only my wife but one of the best comedic actresses in the country.”
The cast of South Africa’s top comedic talents includes Kurt Schoonraad and newcomer Berenice Barbier who plays the mistress, Marika.
Kruger co-wrote this film with long-time friend and creative partner Daniel Zimbler. Their lenses and pens certainly offer viewers a thrill of idiotic gangsters, gambling rabbis, frustrated wives and Boer mafiosi.
Co-founded by Kruger and Anastasopoulos, the award-winning production company Sketchbook Studios has created fun-filled content such as the SuzelleDIY and Tali’s Diary series. Though last year’s storms in Cape Town were the biggest challenge during shooting, Kruger and the crew remained flexible and committed to the project. “Making episodic TV is much harder than making a feature,” he explains. “The preparation that our previous work has given me put me in a much stronger position to tackle my first feature film.”
Due to the film being commissioned by a global streamer, Kruger adds it came with more financial support compared to their previous projects, which made the process wonderfully seamless.
“I’ve never had to shoot so much action before, which meant finding the time to have prep with the actors to try and get the beats right.”
The intriguing script and high-quality cinematography have given The Shakedown both local and global appeal.
Amazon Prime Video launched its local service in Africa in August 2022. Though boasting a sizable collection of South African films, Prime Video’s strategy for developing original local stories is rather vague.
Many filmmakers and viewers were surprised when in January this year the streamer suddenly announced it would be cutting funds for the African and Middle Eastern market, barely two years into its expansion.
Despite these issues, Kruger welcomes the opportunities streaming platforms have given the local film and TV industry.
“There’s never been a better time in South Africa to be making films and TV. The streamers have opened up the doors to South African filmmakers to make their work with bigger budgets as well as offer access to a global stage.
“There is also more openness with audiences globally to watch content coming out of unexpected territories and I believe South Africa has a unique offering in our stories, characters, and tone to compete on an international level.”
As a hybrid genre, crime comedy combines the danger of the crime genre and the hilarity of comedy with some layers of dark humour. Viewers are captivated by the misfortunes of dim-witted criminals foolishly executing serious criminal acts often leading to comic results.
The Shakedown ticks all the boxes. It nestles between other local features such as The Umbrella Men, Paradise Stop, Big Nunu’s Little Heist and Skeem. Though highlighting universal themes such as infidelity within marriage, family relations and promoting healthy lifestyles, what sets The Shakedown apart are the Afrikaner mafia shades within a South African Jewish community.
“I think our South African-ness is our unique currency,” says Kruger. He adds that historically local audiences seem to have had an allergic reaction to seeing ourselves on screen, yet ironically, we also really want to see ourselves represented.
“I think it’s a delicate balance of how we present ourselves which doesn’t feel too close to home or cringe. I would hope that with The Shakedown, we’ve offered audiences an entertaining way to experience our nuances, humour, and unique characters while housed within the safety of genre.”
For international audiences, Kruger not only hopes the film will intrigue, delight, and surprise, but “that the narrative of the story sweeps them away and entertains like it would with any other international film”.