Review by Thomas Mimnagh
Stars Adam Deacon, Femi Oyeniran, Ollie Barbieri, Jazzie Zonzolo, Michael Vu,
Richie Campbell, Jaime Winstone, Paul Kaye, Ashley Walters | Written by Adam Deacon & Michael Vu
UK cert 15 | UK RRP £15.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 90 minutes | Directed by Adam Deacon & Daniel Toland
Noel Clarke’s Kidulthood set the bar in recent years for gritty urban dramas. So it was always going to be an intriguing choice for one of the stars of that film to parody that genre. Unfortunately, that decision is the most interesting thing about Adam Deacon’s directorial debut, Anuvahood.
Anuvahood follows the exploits of Kenneth, and his attempts to escape the tag of being a “wasteman” in his local area and to achieve his musical dreams after quitting his job at "Laimsburys" (yes, you did read that correctly, and I rolled my eyes too). However, Kenneth, or "K", finds making a success of himself on the streets a tougher task than he first thought.
From beginning to end, Anuvahood is a prime example of lazy writing. The characters are incredibly one dimensional and mostly unnecessary perpetuations of negative stereotypes. For example, the family of Chinese character Lesoy are shown doing karaoke and burning pirate DVDs. In another scene, Enrique is introduced wearing a guitar, which is never mentioned again, and appears to only be a vehicle to convey that he is Spanish.
However, the climax of Anuvahood is even more baffling. The film, despite its flaws, has a very jaunty tone and it moves at a quick pace from one interaction to the next. So it’s something of a shock when the final scenes feature a brutal and unnecessarily long fight sequence. It veers from initially shocking, to uncomfortable, and feels so out of place with the rest of the film, so much so that the attempt to revert back to ‘comedy’ afterwards falls flat.
It’s not all negative, however. The sequence where "K" starts selling drugs outside his block is excellently shot, and feels really unique. The main characters are also all very believable as a group of friends, and their relationships provide the best comedy in the film as they play off each other very naturally. However, these positives are not enough to save Anuvahood from mediocrity. It’s a mess of a film, relying on generic stereotypes, cheap laughs, and even cheaper cameos from z-list celebrities like Richard Blackwood and former Big Brother contestant Aisleyne.
I’m sure somewhere Noel Clarke is laughing after watching this debacle, but unfortunately he’s probably the only one who is.
EXTRAS None