Kidulthood [DVD]

 

 

Create your own review

In my mid-teens I was more the geeky type who hung around the library at school rather than a street lurker taking drugs and speaking in that fake 'gansta' accent which has become so popular over the last decade. Although this film reflects a social group I don't really identify with, I can still appreciate the very personal stories which weave together in this British film which speaks to an audience often overlooked - for many there are scenarios and characters in Kidulthood with whom they can identify.

This initially feels like several disjointed stories taking place shortly after the suicide of a girl, a victim of bullying. But the stories start to intersect and end up interwoven in a series of events which neatly come together and reach a tidy conclusion throughout course of the day this film is set. The film doesn't shy away from portraying the drugs culture and the sexual activities of these fifteen year olds. Their behaviour is violent, and regularly vulgar but the youths here aren't demonised, by getting to see their personal circumstances we can see how they are often misunderstood and mistreated - something even they fail to recognise.

The synthetic dialect and accent along with the macho positioning is pure pure showmanship, and inside these are still kids with insecurities. As the characters develop we see that those who take drugs want escape, those who are promiscuous want affection, and those who are violent need to feel in control of a life controlled by others. Kidulthood doesn't glamorise drug taking or underage sex, for those involved it all seems so cool but for us the viewer we get to see their microcosm from the outside and instead of looking on in awe we recognise how sad it really all is. The kids may seem strong but in many cases they are being manipulated by adults, but they find comfort in belonging to a group but it's a way of life which can trap them into not realising their true potential.

I said at the start of this review that the social group these kids belong to isn't one I identify with - but I can still identify with the characters. They sometimes feel like caricatures of themselves but overall Noel Clarke has done a tremendous job in writing a screenplay where the characters are believable, and perhaps more importantly, representative of many other teens out there. Kidulthood is tinged with tragedy but we also see moments of aspiration and hope, this isn't a film desperate to be gritty and cool - it seems more concerned with bringing to the screen an honest presentation of what modern life is like more many teenagers out there. I've read criticism of the acting but I thought it fit the tone of the film well, it's naturalistic and doesn't feel overly acted.

The Blu-Ray transfer is impressive - especially seeing as this is a low budget feature, I expected the picture to be grainy and perhaps a bit washed out - but it's surprisingly punchy and full of detail. The audio has been well mastered to make the most of the much applauded soundtrack (though, it's not to my taste to be honest!) and the music is very clear, more so than the speech. The speech isn't quiet or muffled, but in comparison to the music there is less clarity there. There's no subtitles track, I personally didn't need it but the lingo, thick accent, and the speed of conversation may mean that some (such as those hard of hearing) may struggle.

In a nutshell: I think some people have focussed too much on the sex and violence when they look at this film - instead this is best considered as an insight into a youth culture where the human stories and personal circumstances are as important as those any in any other walk of life.

This film portrays a day in the life of some SCHOOL KIDS, it wasn't trying to portray gun gangs etc to the world, it WAS portraying teenagers, in school uniform. It was trying to portray the contemporary garbage talk and barely legible English which our future subjects currently speak in their school yard p*ssing grounds and inner city pit holes. And yes, seeing as in my line of work I come across degenerates like these day in an day out, it does do a basic good job of roughly portraying them, and their attitude, however the 4'6" types wouldn't get away with half they did in the movie.

The acting is poor - over acting is the norm here. The scenarios really take leaps of faith, bordering on the fantastical. I mean, the day started with bullying, main dessert; a suicide, was followed up by a pregnancy, bouts of prostitution, under age sex, Paedaphilia, drugs, gun running, Heroin, Glaswegian Smiles, torture, more beatings, girl bashing, humiliation, more drugs, drink, insults, mum bashing, theft, robbery, and ended with a party, and two murders! Wow! A day in the life of your common or lesser spotted teenager school kid in Ladbroke Grove (and yes Ladbroke Grove is a dump) - oh and let's not forget the '6th former' (Sam) How he got into the 6th form? I suppose he probably gave his teacher a nosh or something, as there's no way on Earth reprobates like that would ever get there!
The Director also seemed to be portraying unplanned school age teenage Pregnancies as acceptable!
As a film, it doesn't tell me anything i don't know already, so it is entertaining without being a work of


What the film DOES do is portray the generation as egotistical, selfish, cold, decadent, greedy, self obsessed, cold heartless, materialistic, disrespectful, miserable, unhappy, intellectually retarded, linguistically limited, ignorant, shallow, amoral, immoral, vain, narcissistic, cruel, spiritually lacking, uneducated and pathetic. And to all intents and purposes, it portrays this with much vigoor and succeeds!
Having been working amongst such persons daily, and being related to such types I know them well,and see their flaws and have seen their gradual erosion. and pity them more than anything else. Urban society has degenerated to such an extent that the future is very bleak!
This is our future, and God help us!

What the film does NOT do is encourage the youth to progress on from this worthlessness. Yes yes sometimes I thought the film was self obsessed in itself, and the POINT of the film was? It doesn't answer any questions, thus it FAILS

I can understand why some in various online reviews that I have seen scattered across websites have dismissed the movie as 'lacking' and 'chavvy', and I once thought the same... But that was several years ago before I opened my eyes to the world a little more.

The movie is a portrayal of a mix of characters from West London, and follows inner city life of gang culture were the gap between the rich and poor is considerably high. It examines a minority (but growing) of a youth scene and puts us in their shoes as it portrays a day in their lives, boredom which is filled with alcohol, drugs, and violence with the only motivation to survive for the next day. The movie does not beat around the bush with its portrayal and condenses many possible troubles the youth now faces in a single day, including gang violence, drug and alcohol abuse, teenage pregnancy, suicide, bullying, murder, prostitution, and much more. It is quite easy to dismiss those within this culture as the 'dregs of society', but instead this movie forces me to re-examine my position on that, and makes me look for the various and numerous socio-economic reasons as to why this snapshot of British youth is the way it is.

Even the rather obvious portmanteau of 'Kid' and 'Adulthood' should portray what this movie is about rather clearly -- Kids, just kids, who are thrust into something no kid should ever have to deal with, who are forced to grow up faster than they should.

With the growing rates in gang crime and some of the worst gang violence in British history, teenage birth rates in Europe, and growing suicide rates, this movie is just the sucker punch of reality that is needed.

I needn't review the plot as the plot can be read better than I could put into detail here on sites such as Wikipedia, but instead I think I will leave it as my opinion on the message it wishes to evoke.

It is a brave movie to have made, and for me at least, works 100%.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 54 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

 

1.0 out of 5 stars An astonishingly awful film.
This is probably the most astonishingly awful film I have ever seen. It wallows in depravity, bullying, violence and criminality, with the message that such things are cool. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Robin

2.0 out of 5 stars Sigh!
Some extremely common people do nasty things to each other.

Emphasises the shallowness of today's film makers. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Philip G. Brown

1.0 out of 5 stars Just Why?
This film was so incredibly awful I don't really know where to begin. Being 15 most people would assume that I would understand what was going on but I didn't, and I don't want to... Read more

Published 9 months ago by Ed Jones

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Clever and Realistic.
Im not from london or any tough gritty school. but i watched this film for my media project when i was doing my GCSE's. and een back then it blew me away. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Mr. C. Young

5.0 out of 5 stars Kidulthood - gritty, grimey, and entertaining
Great film, great cast, the next top british actors

fantastic storyline, not saying this occurs in every school, however people need to be aware that this still goes... Read more

Published 12 months ago by Ahmed Sharif

4.0 out of 5 stars A good example of gritty British film!
If you like shocking and contraversal, you'll love Kidulthood.
It's a rollercoaster of emotions, all round good British film!

Published 15 months ago by HanaMontanaHughes

1.0 out of 5 stars Trashy nonsense
Being a fan of British cinema, especially that which depicts the grit of everyday life I gave this film a shot. 10 minutes in I felt embarrassed to have bought a copy. Read more

Published 17 months ago by Mr. P. V. Oldham

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing.
Being 15, i totally understand this film. Its strange that things that happen in this film have happened to some of my friends, and i can totally relate to it. Read more

Published 18 months ago by L. MacDonald

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent service to australia from amazon
excellent price and quick service to deliever from amazon uk to australia, the most efficient service i have used. thankyou.

Published 19 months ago by steph

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb!
I was very with impressed with this film. It is not at all far fetched, and will appeal to a wide audience (not just chavs as stated in one review) who like powerful dramas. Read more

Published 20 months ago by personal view

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 54 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

Search Listmania!