Reviewed by Michael Edwards
Stars Noel Clarke, Adam Deacon, Scarlett Alice Johnson,
Jacob Anderson, Ben Drew, Danny Dyer, Cornell John,
Nathan Constance, Femi Oyeniran
Written by Noel Clarke
Certification UK 15
Runtime 99 minutes
Directed by Noel Clarke
Ever felt a yearning for a stylised look at youth violence? If so, you'll probably have come across Kidulthood at some point. The 2006 film followed the troubled lives of a group of 15-year–old Londoners whose world revolved around drugs, fights, and shady dealings. Adulthood is the sequel and picks up a few years after the dramatic conclusion of its predecessor which saw the death of young lad Trife at the hands of Sam (Noel Clarke).
Clarke not only penned the sequel, and of course stars again, but has decided to take on the directorial role too — a heavy load indeed — and his central role in the project is evident throughout. Whilst the film retains (and occasionally even extends) the playful editing and effects evident in Kidulthood, the plot suffers a little from this creative megalomania. The basic premise is that we see how the young miscreants have changed (or not) since the first outing, which is a sensible move for a sequel, but with some new faces providing fresh blood (a word you'll hear a lot if you opt to go see this movie) for the tale. Some of these new kidults actually offer an interesting extension of the commentary these films provide about life in London, but they are somewhat overshadowed by an unnecessarily strong focus on the revenge driven pursuit of Sam by Jay (Adam Deacon) who refuses to forgive the killing of Trife, and Sam's growth during his period in prison.
The focus on Sam doesn't detract from the pace, however, and Adulthood retains the rapid pace and gritty feel established previously. In the places where you could lose interest or get frustrated with the obvious social commentary the movie comfortably relies on little visual treats to hold it together, and this is at once a credit to the film and a curse as it certainly creates an atmosphere that makes this stand out from more mundane youth oriented dramas but it also indicates the cracks in the story which needed papering over. The bottom line is that this is a dramatised social commentary, buffed up and branded to attract the attention of the cinematically undernourished London youth who've had to survive on predictable Hollywood CGI and schmaltzy family movies for too long. A noble cause indeed, but one which makes this film far less attractive to any other demographic: particularly those encompassing people who have no idea how to translate works like "blood", "wa g'wan" and "brap" into comprehensible English.