Grimsby is frequently the punchline of jokes in film and television, or made to appear impoverished and fish-obsessed; nevertheless, the new film Three Day Millionaire aims to dispel some of these misconceptions about the town, while also concentrating on broader socioeconomic issues.
The North East Lincolnshire town of Grimsby is connected with fish, a turbulent political climate, and jokes about poverty and the working classes.
Many may recall Sacha Baron Cohen’s film The Brothers Grimsby, which constantly insulted the town and its inhabitants – it left a foul taste in the mouths of Grimbarians, especially because it was filmed in Essex on a set designed to look filthy and impoverished.
In the meantime, countless documentaries and television programs portray Grimsby as a town at the end of the road (the A180 and A46, to be exact) with no future and a fishing sector on life support (only last week an Icelandic fish processing center in the town was threatened with closure, with operators citing Brexit and the pandemic as reasons).
Filmmakers Jack Spring and Paul Stephenson, who utilized Grimsby as a backdrop for their new comedy-drama Three Day Millionaire, have spun this perception on its head.
Before we continue, I must disclose a potential conflict of interest: I grew up in the city. I spent the better part of two decades in Grimsby and will always cherish the area. I was pleased to find a Grimsby more similar to the one I knew.
The film, which features British stars such as former Coronation Street actors James Burrows and Sam Glen, Gangs of London legend Colm Meaney, and TikToker Grace Long, follows trawler men on shore leave for three days who have a fat wad of cash in their pocket and the entire town of Grimsby and its inhabitants at their disposal.
While the men go out drinking and snorting their hard-earned salaries, politicians and yuppie London developers are hatching a plan to demolish the town’s once-powerful fishing sector and replace it with coffee shops and upscale eateries.
The citizens than do all it takes to safeguard Grimsby’s legacy – and their jobs.
“There have been past instances of the Grimsby name being used in a very careless, slapstick-like manner.
“We wanted to present the story of the town’s true identity, as opposed to the tired clichés ‘it’s not a pleasant region’ or ‘it has nothing.”
It relates to identity
Depending on whomever you ask, the “true” identity of the town is a fishing powerhouse, an industrial firepower, a market town, a political hotspot, or a leader in the green movement.
“The entire film, when stripped down to its essence, is about identity in northern industrial towns like Grimsby,” noted Spring. “Almost every northern industrial town experienced the same thing at some point.”
“And clinging onto that identity, which may be preventing it from developing a new one.
“Grimsby is now one of the UK’s leaders in renewable energy, offshore wind farms, and the influx of large corporations providing new jobs, but it has taken a very long time.
Only in the last five years or so can Grimsby be said to have discovered its new identity and be on the rise.
In addition to the town’s identity, the film explores broader issues of opportunity and advancement.
Paul Stephenson, a writer from Hull, directly across the River Humber from Grimsby, told that as a child he was instructed: “If you were a man, you’d be a plumber, but if you were a woman, you’d be a hairdresser.
“And if you were discussing art, creativity, or self-expression, you are likely somewhere in the middle.”
This is something he portrays in his work, with two of the characters lamenting the lack of opportunities in their hometown while still feeling bad about leaving – which, in my opinion, is still a prevalent sentiment among many people in their hometowns.
Who benefits from leveling up: residents or billionaires?
As the film demonstrates, gentrification is not always welcomed in these working-class industrial towns, where generational livelihoods are being displaced in favor of easy access to shopping, new coffee shops, and river-view apartments.
Stephenson justifies his position “Is this what we want, or is it what someone else wants? Whom are the millionaires who can get the plans approved and the skyscrapers constructed?
“And, some people will welcome it, but if retail is the method to give our towns their identity in the future, people like the men in our video will oppose it.”
A sentiment mirrored by Oldham-born actor Sam Glen in the film, who notes that leveling up requires a step down at times.
“My little theatre in Oldham just lost its (Arts Council) funding, and it’s a town that’s supposed to be on the rise,” he told.
“In terms of access to the arts in these cultural deserts, as well as funding coming literally from all directions for these areas, these organizations enter and, well, they simply read the room.
“I believe that in these cities if it’s not luxury new residences, every sector is being reduced in some way.”
It was a pleasure and an honor to film in the town.
How did the town of Grimsby react to the finest and brightest of British filmmaking descending upon it to film a movie?
“People were resistant,” Glen added.
“There was a sense of dread because… every time a film team enters this town, the residents have a very good idea of where the story is headed.”
Director Spring continued: “However, everyone was fantastic. The entire community threw wide its doors to outsiders.
It was during COVID, so we were knocking on people’s doors and requesting permission to inspect their bathrooms. We’re filming a movie,’ and what a strange request it was, but people would let us in.
It was a genuine pleasure and privilege to work there for a few months.
The community was so captivated by the spotlight that hundreds signed up to be extras, and when the film’s premiere was staged in Cleethorpes, at the country’s largest independent cinema (Grimsby’s Odeon has been closed for nearly two decades), thousands of tickets were sold.
