STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning
Adapted from the stage play of the same name, this tells the story of the fatal stabbing of a young black man with a promising future ahead of him, the perpetrators of the crime and a black detective (Lennie James) assigned to the case, who is forced to re-live some buried demons returning to the estate where the suspects live.
You'd have to have a honing sensor implanted in your brain that steers you away from newspapers and news channels not to be aware of the 'knife epidemic' that Britain is currently in, with reports of teenagers carrying them like they're 'fashion accessories' and of the growing number of deaths at the hands of those that carry them. So it must have seemed as good a time as any to turn this stage play into a film that will, lets face it, reach more people. Even better to have the same actor from the stage to play him on screen. James is a commanding black actor with an undeniable presence, which he tries and succeeds to bring to this role. He's a coppa (or 'fed', as the street kids would say) whose roots are in the same place and who speaks the same lingo as the accused, making him perfect to reach down to their level and twist and turn at them to get what he wants. Likewise, rising young black stars David Mnee, as the main perpetrator whose conscience does prick, even briefly, at the enormity of his crime and Aml Ameen, as his cohort struggling for the same respect, deserve a mention.
The ending does seem intended for dramatic effect, though. Although these cases do seem to be happening more often, the offenders are usually caught and prosecuted (especially the more 'clean' their background seemed) so for the case to collapse and the main suspect to get off with a good kicking from James did seem a little removed from reality. But this is still a fairly well made and very well acted drama that touches on an issue that never seems to leave the headlines at the moment. ***
Adapted from the stage play of the same name, this tells the story of the fatal stabbing of a young black man with a promising future ahead of him, the perpetrators of the crime and a black detective (Lennie James) assigned to the case, who is forced to re-live some buried demons returning to the estate where the suspects live.
You'd have to have a honing sensor implanted in your brain that steers you away from newspapers and news channels not to be aware of the 'knife epidemic' that Britain is currently in, with reports of teenagers carrying them like they're 'fashion accessories' and of the growing number of deaths at the hands of those that carry them. So it must have seemed as good a time as any to turn this stage play into a film that will, lets face it, reach more people. Even better to have the same actor from the stage to play him on screen. James is a commanding black actor with an undeniable presence, which he tries and succeeds to bring to this role. He's a coppa (or 'fed', as the street kids would say) whose roots are in the same place and who speaks the same lingo as the accused, making him perfect to reach down to their level and twist and turn at them to get what he wants. Likewise, rising young black stars David Mnee, as the main perpetrator whose conscience does prick, even briefly, at the enormity of his crime and Aml Ameen, as his cohort struggling for the same respect, deserve a mention.
The ending does seem intended for dramatic effect, though. Although these cases do seem to be happening more often, the offenders are usually caught and prosecuted (especially the more 'clean' their background seemed) so for the case to collapse and the main suspect to get off with a good kicking from James did seem a little removed from reality. But this is still a fairly well made and very well acted drama that touches on an issue that never seems to leave the headlines at the moment. ***