Grittiness and compassion were the twin hallmarks of the writer and director David Leland, who has died aged 82. He scripted a clutch of uncompromising films that launched the screen careers of Cathy Tyson, Emily Lloyd and Tim Roth. Leland’s writing was distinctly British in flavour but without the parochial sensibility that might have limited its appeal.
His early draft of Mona Lisa (1986), an underworld thriller about the relationship between a sex worker (Tyson) and her driver (Bob Hoskins), was tougher and nastier than the finished film. Leland shared the screenplay credit with its Irish director, Neil Jordan.
