STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Six years after the first film finished, Sam (Noel Clarke) has been released from prison for the manslaughter of Trife. But although society's forgiven him, the street's haven't, a fact he becomes quickly aware of when he pays a visit to Trife's grave and is attacked by a guy with a knife, who warns him that Trife's friends are out for blood and him and his family are in danger. Concerned for the safety of his mum and his brother, he desperately goes around all his old haunts trying to find out who's looking for him. And as he does, he must fully come to terms with the devastation his fateful actions that night six years ago had, on his mother, the mother of Trife's daughter, his brother and Trife's friends, including Moony (Femi Oyeniran) who's made something of his life and is studying law and on the other end of the coin Jay (Adam Deacon) the hyper-mouthed, aggressive one from the first film who's now a drug dealer and is especially insistent that Sam must pay the ultimate price for killing his friend...
2006's Kidulthood wasn't intended, I don't think, as much of a mainstream film, just a simple commentary on deprived inner city youth that would hopefully shock a few people into action and give them food for thought. Nevertheless, it developed a bit of a cult status and this, the follow up film, has enjoyed much more widespread anticipation and publicity as a result. Certainly, when I originally went to see it on Saturday night, imagine my shock when I was told by the cashier, for the first time in ages and ages since I've been to the cinema, that it had sold out! It was certainly quite packed when I went to see it tonight, actually, I found myself surrounded by young guys about my age in baseball caps and flairy tracksuits, so it's reached it's target demographic. It's sad, though, that aside from making money, the film is very relevant, as over the last year or so we have been bombarded in the news with gun/knife crime amongst kids in inner city areas, like the film is portraying, but it is good that while the film highlights this, it finishes on a positive message.
Like with the original, Clarke, as star, writer and director, has taken no prisoners and has delivered a film that is every bit as raw, unflinching and hard hitting as the original, with a blaring, pumping heavy gangsta rap soundtrack hollering over everything that never lets up through-out the film. At times it all gets a bit much, and the film can get over-whelmingly depressing, hearing all these characters shouting, swearing and firing broken English at each other, certainly no Salvation Army workers here, but you have to find light where you can see it and Adulthood does manage some funny scenes and, as already stated, a positive ending that sends out the right message to dis-affected youth.
It never quite feels as good as the original, but what is? Appreciated on it's own, this isn't a bad film at all, inspired, relevant, rather bleak but very well made. ****
Six years after the first film finished, Sam (Noel Clarke) has been released from prison for the manslaughter of Trife. But although society's forgiven him, the street's haven't, a fact he becomes quickly aware of when he pays a visit to Trife's grave and is attacked by a guy with a knife, who warns him that Trife's friends are out for blood and him and his family are in danger. Concerned for the safety of his mum and his brother, he desperately goes around all his old haunts trying to find out who's looking for him. And as he does, he must fully come to terms with the devastation his fateful actions that night six years ago had, on his mother, the mother of Trife's daughter, his brother and Trife's friends, including Moony (Femi Oyeniran) who's made something of his life and is studying law and on the other end of the coin Jay (Adam Deacon) the hyper-mouthed, aggressive one from the first film who's now a drug dealer and is especially insistent that Sam must pay the ultimate price for killing his friend...
2006's Kidulthood wasn't intended, I don't think, as much of a mainstream film, just a simple commentary on deprived inner city youth that would hopefully shock a few people into action and give them food for thought. Nevertheless, it developed a bit of a cult status and this, the follow up film, has enjoyed much more widespread anticipation and publicity as a result. Certainly, when I originally went to see it on Saturday night, imagine my shock when I was told by the cashier, for the first time in ages and ages since I've been to the cinema, that it had sold out! It was certainly quite packed when I went to see it tonight, actually, I found myself surrounded by young guys about my age in baseball caps and flairy tracksuits, so it's reached it's target demographic. It's sad, though, that aside from making money, the film is very relevant, as over the last year or so we have been bombarded in the news with gun/knife crime amongst kids in inner city areas, like the film is portraying, but it is good that while the film highlights this, it finishes on a positive message.
Like with the original, Clarke, as star, writer and director, has taken no prisoners and has delivered a film that is every bit as raw, unflinching and hard hitting as the original, with a blaring, pumping heavy gangsta rap soundtrack hollering over everything that never lets up through-out the film. At times it all gets a bit much, and the film can get over-whelmingly depressing, hearing all these characters shouting, swearing and firing broken English at each other, certainly no Salvation Army workers here, but you have to find light where you can see it and Adulthood does manage some funny scenes and, as already stated, a positive ending that sends out the right message to dis-affected youth.
It never quite feels as good as the original, but what is? Appreciated on it's own, this isn't a bad film at all, inspired, relevant, rather bleak but very well made. ****