March 4, 2023 8.00 am This story is over 15 months old

Three Day Millionaire – A raucous love letter to Grimsby

Don’t miss this Netflix hit
Sam Glen, James Burrows & Michael Kinsey in Three Day Millionaire. | Photo: Courtesy of Signature Entertainment, Samuel Dore photography

“Welcome to the best place on Earth – welcome to Grimsby!”

For the trawlermen in Three Day Millionaire, the Lincolnshire town where it was shot and set is paradise.

The film has shot up the Netflix charts after it was uploaded last week, and is a love letter to Grimsby’s glorious fishing heritage as well as it’s current identity crisis.

It starts as boozy caper, with the fishermen planning to spend their wages on a crazy weekend before heading back out to sea.

But the comedy quickly turns dark, and the loveable crew get embroiled in a high-value heist. 

Director Jack Spring hasn’t airbrushed either the town or its inhabitants – there are plenty of shots of Grimsby’s darker corners and questionable behaviour.

From a life on the sea to a life of crime | Photo: Courtesy of Signature Entertainment, Samuel Dore photography

Anyone familiar with Grimsby will have fun spotting landmarks like Cleethorpes seafront, Freeman Street and the Ross Tiger.

The three main men are all likeable, with James Burrows being particularly charismatic as trawlerman Curly.

Their love interests are more two-dimensional and it’s harder to care about them.

Colm Meaney, who has been in everything from Star Trek to The Damned United, is also enjoyable as the boss who wants to sell the fishing industry down the river. 

Director Jack Spring on film’s set. | Photo: Courtesy of Signature Entertainment, Samuel Dore photography

It flies by at just an hour and a half – brief for films nowadays! – although the actual heist does feel a bit anti-climatic.

The question of how to survive when your main industry dies is one a lot of towns are facing at the moment.

There’s also optimism about Grimsby’s possible future as the green-energy capital of the UK.

If you want to see a Lincolnshire town on the big screen – or wherever you watch Netflix – Three Day Millionaire is more than worth your time.

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