Goodnight/Goodmorning

Late or early post? 1:59am in the morning, but judging that i'm about to go to sleep, I will call it a late post. Goodnight.

Ill Manors film review

ILL MANORS

‘Every action, has a reaction’

Boy meets girl. Girls a hooker, and the boy….well he’s just another Plectroctena* in its kingdom of Animalia.

On the unforgiving streets of East London, ill manors follows the footsteps of six desperate lives, being stirred together in the melting pot, with all the ingredients to jolt even the most street-wise of humanity. A film for our times - this eye-opener into the foreign land is hard hitting, and at times, difficult to swallow, yet instinctively, feels important. A generation out of work, and out of hope.

There is ex-dealer Kirby, recently released from prison, thug Ed who will stop at nothing to find his missing phone pimping out troubled Michelle who is just looking for her next hit. Then there’s the younger of the cast, Jake who finds himself involved with the local gang leader, Chris, who seeks revenge, and Aaron, our main protagonist who is just trying to do the right thing.

In its furiously impassioned attempt to heighten viewer’s insight into the inner-city-Britain, Ben Drew and his cast of inexperienced actors, and low budget film expertise, leaves you feeling almost appalled and depressed about the state of our nation. But the powerful performances and deplorable scenes are enough to make this film well worth seeing.

Ill Manors does what Kiddulthood/Adulthood and Shank couldn’t do, and actually attempts to explore the dark, and gritty, unpleasant circumstances, from gang culture, bullying and drugs to prostitution, murder and sex trafficking - broken up briefly by music/lyrics from director Plan B. Showing the nation the harsh reality of the underclass lives we might be too naïve about.

 ‘We are all products of our environment. Some environments are just harder to survive in’

 

*A type of ant that attacks another of its kind to protect its territory.