Bullet Boy (2004)

Director:

Saul Dibb

Writers:

Saul Dibb
Catherine Johnson

Release Date:

8 April 2005 (Ireland)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Pray... They may be your last words...

Plot Keywords:

Ghetto | Gangster | Sex | Dawn Raid | London England

Awards:

3 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Ashley Walters	...	Ricky
Luke Fraser	...	Curtis
Leon Black	...	Wisdom
Claire Perkins	...	Beverley
Sharea-mounira Samuels	...	Shea
Curtis Walker	...	Leon
Rio Tison	...	Rio
Clark Lawson	...	Godfrey
Jadiel Vitalis	...	Meadow
Sylvester Williams	...	Neville
Jaime Winstone	...	Natalie (as Jamie Winstone)
Louise Delamere	...	Probation Officer
Des Hamilton	...	School Teacher
Chris Callendar	...	Ricky's Solicitor
Husseyn Clus	...	Turkish Van Driver
Vicky Flavelle	...	Prison Officer
Alan Collins	...	Prison Officer
Corinne Ford	...	Prison Officer
Greg Tanner	...	Police Officer
Martin Heathcote	...	Police Officer (credit only)
Chris Turnball	...	Police Officer
Michelle John-Douglas	...	Church Singer
Jason Boothe	...	Church Choirboy
Jasette Barrett	...	Church Choirgirl
Jewel Charmaine Dinnall	...	Church Choirgirl
Sharon White	...	Church Choirgirl
Patricia Scott	...	Church Choirgirl
Simeon Daley	...	Church Choirboy
Trevor McKinley	...	Church Band Member
Noval Smith	...	Church Band Member
Aaron Fagan	...	Church Band Member
Amanda Buchanan	...	Nurse
Anabella Ford	...	Nurse
Waine Martin	...	Godfrey's Crew Member
Brendan Smith	...	Godfrey's Crew Member
Nicholas Franklyn	...	Godfrey's Crew Member
Kobina Christie	...	Godfrey's Crew Member
Lois Ward	...	Family Liaison Officer
Robert Ward	...	Coroner
Dolly	...	Rakim
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Dora Clouttick
Gary Henry	...	Randal Cue
Sid Karne	...	Gang Member

Directed by
Saul Dibb

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Saul Dibb
Catherine Johnson

Produced by
Abi Bach	....	associate producer
Marc Boothe	....	producer
Ruth Caleb	....	producer
Paul Hamann	....	executive producer
Paul Hamann	....	producer
Michael Tait	....	co-producer
David M. Thompson	....	executive producer
Paul Trijbits	....	executive producer
Tristan Whalley	....	executive producer: Portman Film

Original Music by
Neil Davidge
Robert del Naja
Massive Attack

Cinematography by
Marcel Zyskind

Film Editing by
Masahiro Hirakubo
John Mister

Casting by
Des Hamilton

Production Design by
Melanie Allen

Art Direction by
James Price

Costume Design by
James Keast

Makeup Department
Sam Headley	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Jay Coquillon	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Lou Clouter	....	second assistant director
Geoff Dibben	....	first assistant director
Dominic Fysh	....	first assistant director
Wayne Anthony Gordon	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Palvinder Kainth	....	art department intern
Joseph Paines	....	art departement trainee
Toby Riches	....	stand-by art director

Sound Department
Albert Bailey	....	sound recordist
Colin Codner	....	boom operator
Richard Davey	....	sound re-recording mixer
Paul Davies	....	supervising sound editor
Anthony Faust	....	adr mixer
Andrew Griffiths	....	boom operator
Vincent Hazard	....	adr editor
Vincent Hazard	....	dialogue editor
Christian Koefoed	....	sound effects editor
Jessie Taylor	....	foley editor
Richard Welsh	....	dolby sound consultant

Special Effects by
Hugh Goodbody	....	special effects technician

Stunts
Nrinder Dhudwar	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
Kerry Brown	....	still photographer
Alan Charles	....	camera trainee
Mark Clayton	....	gaffer
Pat Crawford	....	sparks
Henry Landgrebe	....	clapper loader
Simon Tindall	....	focus puller

Casting Department
Vanessa Baker	....	adr voice casting
Brendan Donnison	....	adr voice casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Lucille Acevedo-Jones	....	costume design assistant (as Lucille Jones)
Fola Solanke	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Asha Radwan	....	post-production coordinator
Tolly Swallow	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Charlie Dark	....	music consultant
Sophie Sheen	....	music supervisor
Charlie 'Dark' Williams	....	music consultant

Other crew
Ameenah Ayub	....	floor runner
John Baker	....	armorer
Scott Bassett	....	production coordinator
Edward Bishop	....	production runner
Elton Farla	....	medic
Rob Grundy	....	armorer
Nick Jeffries	....	armourer
Saron Skyers	....	set runner
Bob Sohanpal	....	production runner
George Wong	....	production accountant

Production Companies

• BBC Films
• UK Film Council
• Shine

Distributors

• Verve Pictures (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• 21st Century Pictures (2006) (Australia) (DVD)
• Arkles Entertainment (2005) (New Zealand) (DVD)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (2006) (UK) (TV) (BBC2)
• Image Entertainment (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• MTV Netherlands (2008) (Netherlands) (TV)
• Movie Bank (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Warner Bros. Entertainment Finland Oy (2007) (Finland) (DVD)

Other Companies

• AFM Lighting  lighting
• Aimimage / Ice Film  cameras supplied by
• Clarity Post Production Sound  sound post-production
• Fatts  post-production script service
• JAM Location Services  location assistants
• Mayflower Recording  ADR recording

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, a strong sex scene, language and some drug use

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | USA:R | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/12 | Ireland:16 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Hackney, London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

Sold to its backers at BBC films as "Kes with guns."

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: When Rio and Leon are playing hide and seek, the boom microphone is visible in the lower left corner screen for a second.

Soundtrack:

Drawing Board

Fires mostly blanks...

Saul Dibb's examination of the gun culture amongst Britain's 'Ghetto youth' is a well-meaning film that makes good use of authentic locations to tell a simple cautionary tale, but which is burdened with a predictable plot that fatally weakens the impact of its message.

Ashley Walters plays Ricky, son of a single mum and, in the absence of a constant father figure, object of admiration of his younger brother Curtis (Luke Fraser). As the film begins, Ricky is released from prison after serving time for stabbing a boy. Greeted at the prison gates by best friend Wisdom (Leon Black) and Curtis, Ricky returns to the mean streets of Hackney determined to go straight. Unfortunately, Wisdom accidentally clips the wing mirror of another youth's car, and from this trivial incident, a spiralling series of reprisals and repercussions culminate in pointless deaths.

The real strength of this film is in its depiction of the posturing of the young males unable to 'kick back' and let things ride when they feel they have been 'dissed'. The threat of a perceived lack of respect from their peers prevents them from doing so – even though they might want to – as the subsequent reputation for being soft would make life that much more difficult for them on the street. It's a stupid, destructive trap they have built for themselves over successive generations, and it is with this one aspect of the film that Dibbs and co-writer Catherine Johnson succeed.

That alone isn't going to carry any film very far however and, in addition to the mind-numbing predictability of the plot, the writers' habit of making equally obvious associations regarding the causes behind the explosion of gun culture in Britain make it seem like we're watching a film intended for young teenagers at times. For example we see young Curtis toying with his older brother's gun after playing shoot-'em-up video games; we also see Wisdom 's nemesis raising the stakes in the pair's own deadly game while Ricky enjoys an idyllic afternoon on the ice rink with his loving girlfriend Shea (Sharea-mounira Samuels), who represents his own real chance of survival. Comparisons are easily drawn, but such a lack of subtlety is a real drawback. Also, authority throughout the film is unfailingly depicted as white and vaguely adversarial – the police, the probation officer, the teacher – which transmits a dangerously subliminal (and quite probably unintended) message regarding the comparative power between the races and the consequent reasons for the position in which today's black youth finds itself.

On the plus side, the film does well to create a world that appears authentic and avoids the diverse and equally inaccurate pictures of London we find in Eastenders and Guy Ritchie gangster flicks. Dibb's documentary background is evident in his regular use of hand-held cameras to capture a real flavour of the streets and the council estate ambiance, while the cast are first rate, giving completely unaffected and convincing performances. Claire Perkins stands out as Beverly, Ricky and Curtis's timeworn single mother embarking on a tenuous romance with a reformed hood who has found God. Young Luke Fraser also gives a remarkably subtle performance as Curtis who, given his final action in the film, is its only real hope for the future. It's just sad, for both the jaded viewer and the film itself, that it is an action that doesn't quite ring true…