Ami Ameen as D, in Idris Elba’s directorial debut, the Jamaican-British crime thriller Yardie. Photo courtesy of Rialto Pictures
Actor Idris Elba makes his directing debut with Yardie, a tale about a young Jamaican, haunted by his DJ brother’s murder, who makes his way to London in the employ of a Kingston-based gang boss.
“Yardie” is slang for Jamaican gang members, a term the pops up on the streets of the London’s Hackney neighborhood, home to large Jamaican immigrant community. It is where D (Ami Ameen) finds himself after his boss King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd) sends him to London to deliver a package of drugs to Rico (Stephen Graham), a fuzzy-haired, white Jamaican under-boss.
But the story really starts years earlier in Jamaica, where 10-year-old Dennis (Antwayne Eccleston), who goes by the nickname D., lives just outside Kingston with his older brother, a street DJ known as...
Actor Idris Elba makes his directing debut with Yardie, a tale about a young Jamaican, haunted by his DJ brother’s murder, who makes his way to London in the employ of a Kingston-based gang boss.
“Yardie” is slang for Jamaican gang members, a term the pops up on the streets of the London’s Hackney neighborhood, home to large Jamaican immigrant community. It is where D (Ami Ameen) finds himself after his boss King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd) sends him to London to deliver a package of drugs to Rico (Stephen Graham), a fuzzy-haired, white Jamaican under-boss.
But the story really starts years earlier in Jamaica, where 10-year-old Dennis (Antwayne Eccleston), who goes by the nickname D., lives just outside Kingston with his older brother, a street DJ known as...
- 3/15/2019
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
There’s something missing in “Yardie,” Idris Elba’s directorial debut, but I can’t quite place my finger on it. The acting is decent, the cinematography is well-executed, and the music is on point, but the delivery and the tone are completely mismatched. It feels as if the film itself is aching to say something more, but is ultimately muted by choices the freshman director withheld from making.
Based on the 1992 book by Victor Headley, the film opens in 1973 Kingston, Jamaica. There’s a gang war, and young D (Antwayne Eccleston) is being raised by his older brother, Jerry Dread while King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd) — a gang leader, don, and music producer — acts a sort of father figure to both. During a concert meant to unite rival gangs in Kingston, Jerry is gunned down, leaving D to be raised by King Fox.
Years later, adult D is working for...
Based on the 1992 book by Victor Headley, the film opens in 1973 Kingston, Jamaica. There’s a gang war, and young D (Antwayne Eccleston) is being raised by his older brother, Jerry Dread while King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd) — a gang leader, don, and music producer — acts a sort of father figure to both. During a concert meant to unite rival gangs in Kingston, Jerry is gunned down, leaving D to be raised by King Fox.
Years later, adult D is working for...
- 3/15/2019
- by Yolanda Machado
- The Wrap
A small-imprint–published slab of pulp fiction that became a huge literary sensation, Victor Headley’s 1992 novel Yardie drops readers into a London filled with ex-pat Jamaican kingpins, gang wars, alleyway assassinations and an antihero — “D.,” short for Dennis — who works his way up the underworld ladder. The writing was rough-and-ready straightforward, without the tough-guy stylistics of a Chandler or an Ellroy; the patois-heavy prose felt like it both represented Britain’s West Indian community and gave the rise-and-fall narrative a unique edge. An under-served demographic of readers found the...
- 3/14/2019
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
From time to time, it’s worth considering whether a director or a screenwriter has more influence over the final outcome of a film. Can a bad script undercut a good director? Is a good one able to hide the flaws of a bad filmmaker? The answer to both probably resides somewhere in between. The one thing I’m fairly certain of is this: a first time director can’t make do with a poor screenplay. Unfortunately for Idris Elba, the actor is making his directorial debut utilizing a script that’s lacking in juice. This makes Yardie, his first effort behind the camera, a step or two down from where it otherwise could have been. Elba shows some chops, but the material fails him throughout. He elevates it somewhat, but not enough to save the day. The film is a crime drama, with the sort of plot we’ve...
- 3/13/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Stars: Aml Ameen, Shantol Jackson, Stephen Graham, Antwayne Eccleston, Fraser James, Rayon McLean, Mark Rhino Smith, Sheldon Shepherd, Christopher Daly, Alexandra Vaz, Chris-Ann Fletcher, Paul Haughton, Everaldo Creary | Written by Brock Norman Brock, Martin Stellman | Directed by Idris Elba
Yardie is the much anticipated directorial debut from much beloved British acting veteran Idris Elba – who’s famed for his turn as grizzly and gritty roles ranging from his much-beloved turn as Dci John Luther to Hollywood action prowess of Pacific Rim, Thor and Star Trek Beyond.
With Yardie, adapted from the novel by the same name by author Victor Headley released in 1992, Elba strips away the Hollywood gloss and expense, pushing himself into the deep end in the realm of the dearly missed British production of a gritty and dark tale of greed and murder, reminiscent of the vast social politic and exaggerations from the likes of Alan Clarke and Guy Ritchie,...
Yardie is the much anticipated directorial debut from much beloved British acting veteran Idris Elba – who’s famed for his turn as grizzly and gritty roles ranging from his much-beloved turn as Dci John Luther to Hollywood action prowess of Pacific Rim, Thor and Star Trek Beyond.
With Yardie, adapted from the novel by the same name by author Victor Headley released in 1992, Elba strips away the Hollywood gloss and expense, pushing himself into the deep end in the realm of the dearly missed British production of a gritty and dark tale of greed and murder, reminiscent of the vast social politic and exaggerations from the likes of Alan Clarke and Guy Ritchie,...
- 12/31/2018
- by Jak-Luke Sharp
- Nerdly
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