Ill Manors Film Review

‘Ill Manors’ is a British crime drama which was released in 2012; the film focuses heavily on a narrative associated with issues such as: drugs, violence and prostitution. Ill Manors revolves around the lives of eight main characters, played by Riz Ahmed, Ed Skrein, Keith Coggins, Lee Allen, Nick Sagar, Ryan De La Cruz, Anouska Mond and Natalie Press, Ill Manors is a multi-character story set over the course of seven days, a scenario where everyone is fighting for respect. The film focuses on eight core characters, and their circles of violence, as they struggle to survive on the unforgiving streets of London. Each story links into one another demonstrating an ultra-realistic gritty picture of the world which is on the brink of self-destruction. The movie is a good illustration of the main issues surrounding today’s youth, ultimately Plan B wrote this movie based on an experience he encountered when his home was raided by armed police and by other stories he heard in his teens, such as a young woman prostituting herself to repay a drug dealer. Plan B –is an English rapper and has been in many films from the same genre such as: Adulthood, 4.3.2.1.and Harry Brown. ‘Ill Manors’ is the first film he wrote and directed. In my opinion, it was a successful movie and his cameo appearance at the end is significant as it marks how far he has developed as a person. Although Plan B (also known as Ben Drew) struggled to finance this movie, the movie helps educate the youth of today and displays the consequences of trying too hard to get back at somebody in return for a little respect. The cast were the perfect fit to in terms of age, gender and ethnicity to give that urban feel. For the film, Plan B hired a mixture of both experienced and inexperienced actors, whilst several cast members already knew the director personally before they were cast in their roles.  It was reported that the cast and crew ran into trouble with youths and production was interrupted whilst a laptop containing the film's footage had to be recovered after being stolen by a drug addict.^] Drew claimed that he faced mass judgement from some crew members whilst on set because of his background; however he also noted that "there was some people that really believed in my vision and gave me all the support I needed.”  The main characters from the film are as follows: Aaron – he is the protagonist and is partners with Ed. They are both into drugs. Kirby – a well-known drug dealer, along with his protégé Chris, Marcel – another local drug dealer, Michelle – drug addict and  Jake – young teen who’s eager to be in a gang. The representation of each character is important because each of their battles comes along with consequences and some of their approaches to deal with those lead to death. It’s important the youth are educated and informed about gang violence and dealing with drugs. The soundtrack is called ‘Ill Manors’ and acts as a narration for the film, there are many tracks in the film that act as a narration to when played over a particular scene. The lyrics are intense at times and describe the background of each character in a rap form. The target audience for this film would be ages 16 -30. 70% male, 30% female. The demographic would be towards the C/D category and this is because the movie was low-budget (with a limit of £100,000). The movie was filmed in the gritty parts of London and unlike high-budget Hollywood films the movie was first aired on ‘The Guardian’ website. On its opening weekend, the film placed at number nine at the UK Box Office, with a gross figure of £256,288.The film has earned a total gross of £453,570, after eight weeks at the box office. The movie received largely positive reviews from critics and fans alike, with a current 79% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes (a large film critic site) based on twenty-five different reviews. Also, IMDB gave the movie a 7 out of 10 star rating and Metacritic generally had positive views, one from ‘The Guardian’ stated: “On a production level, this album is cutting-edge; on a lyrical level it is brutally brilliant. It will melt your ears and your heart.” Q Magazine stated “Ill Manors, depressing, blunt and provocative, fulfils one of rap music's most noble tasks--to touch the sore spot.” Overall the movie was a success and breath-taking at many moments, the main twist at the end when Aaron (the main character) decided to leave his past behind by leaving the ghetto to rekindle his relationship with his parents who gave him up for adoption in his younger years was significant as it marked a change for him and how he’s embarking on a new lifestyle.