Yahoo Movies Exclusive: Raff Law says Twist is actually faithful to Charles Dickens
Twist is a modern-day adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic Oliver Twist and, on the face of it, the new Sky Cinema original movie doesn't seem to be all that faithful to the novel.
Oliver is now streetwise graffiti artist Twist and Fagin (played by Sir Michael Caine) is more of a cuddly grandfather figure to the gang Twist gets involved with, which includes a gender-flipped Artful Dodger called Dodge, played by Rita Ora.
However, talking to Digital Spy, leading star Raff Law – making his movie debut as Twist – believes that the movie is actually faithful to the novel in the journey of its titular character.
"One thing that's very much there in this version and in the original is the journey that Twist goes on from being this lonely orphan figure who doesn't have anyone. He's very mouldable, he's very naive, he's very angelic in his own world, but the rest of the world seems very dark to him," he explained.
"Then he's brought into this family who use his want for a family and warp it so that he steals for them, but through that, he meets a bunch of orphan kids who have been through the same thing as him and they realise that if they get together, they can save the day.
"That stems from the book, that journey, and something for me that I really wanted to focus on [was] nailing that naive, insecure lost boy. I'm lucky and very grateful to have my family and have a strong support group of friends, and that's something that Twist doesn't have."
Law revealed that the role happened to come around at exactly the right time when he had made a decision to pursue an acting career. While it does have similarities to Oliver Twist, there's no doubt that the movie puts a "twist on Twist" which was also part of the appeal.
"Once I read it, I was intrigued because it's a classic novel that I read when I was younger, it's an iconic character, but I loved it because it stood out in its own world as opposed to some remakes that have happened," he recalled.
"I felt in a really good place, I felt committed and dedicated and it just made sense. It all fell into place, and once I met the director [Martin Owen], we got on really well and the vision I picked up on through the script was exactly the same as his."
Although Twist was filmed back in 2019, it has ended up coming out after a short movie that Raff filmed with his father Jude Law in 2020 called The Hat, filmed during lockdown when he "wasn't really doing anything".
"It was really lovely to work with my dad, but me and him have been doing short films and mucking about since I was 2 like that," Raff noted. "The Hat was a great project, but I definitely want to make a feature, not of The Hat, but maybe something inspired by [it].
"I'm not sure if me and my dad will work together in the foreseeable future because I really just want to focus on me at the moment and he's also super busy, but one day, for sure, we'll definitely collaborate together."
Twist is available to watch on Sky Cinema and NOW TV from Friday (January 29).
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