I have relatives who are multiracial. They always tell how they never feel completely at ease with one group or another. The feeling of never completely belonging or being accepted.
This strikes a chord in Alex Wheatle. He grew up in white foster homes and white care homes. He experiences racism from the white kids and his carers.
When he moves to Brixton at the age of 18. Alex is a fish out of water. He knows little about his parents or his black identity.
Alex stands out in the black community from the way he dresses to the way he speaks. He befriends Dennis who becomes his mentor as they dabble in petty theft and drug dealing. Eventually Alex gets some success by DJing.
The story of Alex Wheatle is framed as he enters prison for taking part in the Brixton riots of 1981. He ends up in a cell with Simeon a big rastafarian who has the runs. The prison cell stinks of faeces.
Simeon coaxes Alex's story out of him and he becomes another mentor in prison. Simeon gives Alex books to read which inspires him to write.
Steve McQueen really gets the whiff of the early 1980s Brixton and particularly of that prison cell. It is small scale but is beautifully crafted.
I never knew that Alex Wheatle is based on a real person until after the end credits. He is a successful YA novelist who was awarded a MBE.
