I watched to the end, so it is not bad enough to be unbearable but it is certainly nothing special. The film never seems to decide who its audience is: London streetwise gang members or fresh off the boat migrants. The approach is largely childlike and, apart from some strong language and misplaced violence and drug use, could have been a family treat. The fight scenes are incongruous and throwaway, and any attempt at addressing romantic relationships is primary school playground level.
Attempts to contrast Yemi's Peckham life with Ikudayisi's Nigerian background are flimsy, and it is hard to imagine two brothers /half-brothers reaching the age they do while knowing so little about each other. In fact, it is the newcomer Iku who seems to know their mother better. It is impossible to conceive that Yemi speaks no Yoruba, considering how often his mother lapses into it. The understanding most characters have of African / Caribbean / British aspects of their heritage is frankly offensive. People seem to drift through the single day with no sense of purpose, shifting from an Indian shop to a Chinese restaurant, in and out of a pirate radio station, play areas, residential streets, the library (why did two characters find themselves inside?). The representation of a teenage PCSO wannabe is tasteless.
The film is a time passer. I would not sit down to watch it, but it was on and it held my attention, just, for its duration. I am not proud to have watched it; the boundary between innocent 1970s humour and blunt racism is always too close for real comfort, but if you happen to catch it you are unlikely to throw down your remote control and leave the room in disgust.
Attempts to contrast Yemi's Peckham life with Ikudayisi's Nigerian background are flimsy, and it is hard to imagine two brothers /half-brothers reaching the age they do while knowing so little about each other. In fact, it is the newcomer Iku who seems to know their mother better. It is impossible to conceive that Yemi speaks no Yoruba, considering how often his mother lapses into it. The understanding most characters have of African / Caribbean / British aspects of their heritage is frankly offensive. People seem to drift through the single day with no sense of purpose, shifting from an Indian shop to a Chinese restaurant, in and out of a pirate radio station, play areas, residential streets, the library (why did two characters find themselves inside?). The representation of a teenage PCSO wannabe is tasteless.
The film is a time passer. I would not sit down to watch it, but it was on and it held my attention, just, for its duration. I am not proud to have watched it; the boundary between innocent 1970s humour and blunt racism is always too close for real comfort, but if you happen to catch it you are unlikely to throw down your remote control and leave the room in disgust.
