Grim, violent, brutal and casual in its depiction of guns, drugs, gang culture, knife crime and general lawlessness, Adulthood is a perfectly depressing portrait of a lost generation.
And while it is located in early 21st century London, the themes, milieu and atmosphere of this deeply unpleasant (but strangely compelling) inner city fable mean it could be set almost anywhere and at any time.
Writer/director/star Noel Clarke (B
illie Piper's boyfriend in Doctor Who) dominates the film as Sam, just released from prison and hoping for a new start. He's done his time and six years later he's out. But people are after him – and his family.
Before the day is out he's back rubbing shoulders with the slime and scumbags that inhabit the world he left behind. His mother has disowned him, his brother is speeding towards a life of crime and, wherever he goes, he finds himself swamped by past lives and acquaintances. And in a world of constantly shifting loyalties, Sam has no-one to turn to.
A sequel to 2006's Kidulthood, this fast-moving and energetic slice of low life is reminiscent of Saul Dibb's Bullet Boy, in which the spiral of violence claims an ever-increasing number of casualties. Adulthood adopts an American approach to
its themes of crime and punishment, with the result that this modestly budgeted drama looks and feels like a much bigger movie than it actually is.
Much of that impact comes courtesy of Clarke, who is in practically every scene. As writer and director he succeeds in propelling forward a story that is familiar from a thousand Stateside flicks and TV episodes. Yet he manages to give it all a peculiarly British edge, illuminating a hidden world populated by people who appear to have lost touch with common humanity.
Clarke has real presence – both as actor and filmmaker. However the film is weakened by the one element that should add to its menace: the impenetrable patois spoken by so many of the principal cast. In America it may need subtitles.
British cinema does not need any more films about the criminal sub-classes. However Adulthood is better than previous offerings. While it has undoubtedly been seen before, one has
to admire the manner in which Clarke has led his multitudinous ensemble cast to glory, as well as the sheer power of his central performance, which is exceptional.
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