KIDULTHOOD

"At least we get the day off"

After the death of a student in their class, Trife (Ameen), Jay (Deacon) and Mooney (Oyeniran) head out to enjoy their day off. Alisa (Madrell) has more to think about however but her best friend Becky (Winstone) is determined to take her mind off her growing problem. Sam (Clarke) however is out for revenge as his reputation has taken a beating and he wants to show that is still the hardest man on the block.

After years and years of Hollywood's interpretation of high school life, we finally get to see that British schools are very different to anything in the US.

The talented actor Noel Clarke showcases a new side to his skills by writing the screenplay to this no-holds barred look into the lives of five London high school students. Here we see their problems, their attitudes to life and the pressures of living in the nation's capital. Clarke tries to show the reality of youngsters' lives and their own anxieties.

Telling the story from two different sets of friends, we see the pressures of teenage life for both sexes. This isn't your typical sugar coated view of life however instead we see everything from drug use, unprotected sex and excessive violence. The script tries to reflect the current attitude and mentally of British teenagers from disadvantaged backgrounds and it succeeds, for the most part.

Watchers might feel that the film goes a little too far when it comes to showing a day in the lives of Trife, Jay, Mooney, Alisa and Becky but this reflects the modern problems and pressures faced by teenagers living in run down areas of London or any other urban town in the country. Each of these fifteen year olds is facing social pressure over sex, drugs and their position within their circle of friends and schools mates. These are issues of our age and ones that school kids face everyday.

Bringing this gritty material to life is a collection of young British talent that get to showcase what they can do. Leading the line is a scene stealing performance from Aml Ameen as Trife. Torn between loyalty to his local thug and drug dealing uncle, his friends and his girlfriend, Ameen portrays the character with realism and conflict as he tries to choose his own path. Red Madrell is also excellent as Trife's girlfriend Alisa, who has her own rather large problem to deal with and she isn't been helped by her wayward friend Becky, played the equally talented Jamie Winstone. Adam Deacon provides the comedy as Jay but Femi Oyeniran is a little too stereotypical as Moony. The writer himself, Noel Clarke is also good as local hardman Sam.

'Kidulthood' might feel like it is pandering to all the media misconceptions of what it is like to be a teenager in an underachieving high school catchment area. Director Menhaj Huda's visual flair and uncompromising approach to the subject matter make this a true reflection of the British teenagers it tries to portray. Gritty and hard-hitting, this is that might not go as far as could be is still a film that proves that British film industry is not dead.