Ill Manors

Utterly hackneyed tosh! A totally unrealistic, utterly ridiculous, festival of teenage macho posturing! Unlike the film makers, I live in inner city London and know how to use a gun (you need to * it and take off the safety catch before it can be shot, you muppets!) I also realise that putting together the worst articles you read in the daily mail over the past two decades and pretending they make a realistic reflection on life, is merely laughable! In conclusion, I'm annoyed with myself I wasted two hours of my life watching this charmless, badly acted, Eastenders omnibus!

This film came to my attention very late, less than a week ago even. But i watched the trailer, was very impressed and took myself off to the cinema this afternoon with much excitement and enthusiasm. So did it fulfil my expectations? Yes and no. Yes, it's an unflinching and very realistic look at the drug trade in London. The drug of interest in this film - cocaine. But lets face it, cocaine is a massive problem everywhere now, i know it is in my town. But at least that is something most of us can relate to and keep at a distance - most of us have the choice not to take drugs or be involved in the dealing of drugs and the violence that comes with it. The characters in this story are the poor unfortunates that were forced in to this way of life in order to survive. The subject of foster care and the results of poor foster care resonate with several characters in this film. So in those respects this film is a masterclass - as is the acting and ben drews direction is fantastic. But then there's the script. There is a story laid out with an inter wining theme - but no real protagonist of antagonist is ever properly established as the plot switches too often to establish the key characters and their overall goal. This is one of the best debut films i have ever seen, but its writing is severely flawed in my opinion. However, Im sure whatever Mr Drew delivers next will be a masterclass if this is the film-making talent he is showing this early on.

I went to see this film today by chance. Having a unlimited card for a major chain I would go to most things that I think I will like. i had actually bought a ticket for the new Ken Loach movie but decided to drop into this film instead.I was glad I did. I am not from the part of the world in which this film is set, nor do I have much of a knowledge as to Ben Drew /Plan B is. I do know that he grew up in a similar area and in similar circumstances in which many of the characters in this film inhabit. At first I thought it was going to be another below par 'Innit bruv', sub Danny Dyer, Kidulthood , bad episode of Eastenders. I was familiar with the main actor Riz Ahmed's work on Four Lions and have just recently seen Shifty. He inhabits a very similar character to the one in Shifty and he's journey through the film is the one I was ' rooting for', even thought it was the one that held the least surprises for me. I found the film difficult to watch in many scenes, especially those involving the prostitute characters. The dehumanisation of some of these characters, along with the younger, and as yet to be corrupted characters are the elements of the film that have affected me the most. Each character was important, and had a life beyond the time frame of the film.The film works as a drama, a thriller and as a very strong social comment. This is some achievement. The film is not with out its flaws- the overuse of time lapse at times was a little annoying, and it could maybe be be 15 minutes shorter, but these are small complaints. I was surprised to hear that the film was made for £100,000. If this is true it is some achievement. Even if this is a marketing fib, it is still a very well crafted film. This film is not for everyone. it's subject matter and tone is very oppressive and bleak.If however you like your 'urban grit' to actually be gritty then this is a movie for you. I think that this film deserves a wider audience and I hope it receives one.

If you are expecting something along the lines of Kidulthood/Adulthood this film is not it. I think Ben Drew set out to create something similar, and while you can't argue with the authenticity of the locations & events, the story isn't really there to cement it. There are too many superficial characters with somewhat tedious sub-plots aimlessly tying them together. Some of the events may leave you feeling uneasy as he plainly outlines every facet of 'street life' with a no holds barred approach, which is fine in moderation, but that seemed to be the whole basis of the film at one point. Overall, if the story had been more character driven I would have enjoyed it more.

Saw this the other week at the cinema. Watch a film. Although this type of film has been done before with the likes of 'Kidulthood' and so on, but the material has never been fresher. I'm not Plan B's biggest fan music wise. I think he's very talented and my girl loves him, but I'm more into my underground grime rather than commercial. I did, however, think he did a good job in 'Adulthood' and 'Harry Brown' so I'm guessing I'm more into his acting than his music. And I'm hoping to see a lot more after this. It's the story of different characters who connect in some way or another. Each story filled with tragedy and each character dealing with issues. Plan's B's singing narration before each story is brilliant. This won't be for everyone. There's crackheads, prostitution, pedophiles, drugs and violence but there's also an incredible empathy for even the most horrible characters. There's also some good humour too. The acting's fantastic. With some faces you know and some you don't, each performance is bang on. Overall a deep, very well made film with terrific performances and a truly original style. ****/*****

I can only assume that people didn't like this film because it was too dark, or it simply wasn't their type of film. If you like films like Kidulthood & Adulthood I can promise you will LOVE this. I personally thought it was better than the above said films. Not only was it very well produced and directed, the acting was top notch! I've never seen (or noticed) Ed Skrein in a film before, and he played his part perfectly - Totally believable, and basically a right nasty piece of work. All the other parts were played excellently too(with maybe the exception of Kirby's character) It had a great story that keeps you engrossed from beginning to end, it is shocking, harrowing,and some good humor was thrown in too. After it finished, I text a handful of friends (who I knew would like it) and told them to watch it asap. Nuff said, 10/10

What a shame! I was looking forward to this, as I am a single mother who has lived on a council estate my entire life. I also quite like Plan B, as my son is a huge fan and I quite like his intelligence as a musician/rap artist. I was invited to the premiere by my cousin who worked on the movie. He loved it! Not sure how objective he can be though. It is realistic in the sense that the events do happen in real life. And some of the acting is actually quite good. But much like Kidulthood and other mediocre attempts at portraying Council Estate life on film, it only shows one shade of the story. The grim is coupled with the opposite in real life. It is not all doom and gloom etc. I actually doubt how much these young filmmakers seem to know about the complexity of working class life in urban poor London, which I know a lot about. There is light, there is humour, there is love, there is fun. Show that also! There is more than one shade in the 'endz'. Stop only showing darkness. It is inaccurate and insulting to people such as myself who love films and come from the world they want to portray and make money out of. I am glad movies are getting made about my world. But please show the whole spectrum.

I've been coming to the TIFF for fifteen straight years, and all I can say is "wow!" If you've seen the trailers at IMDb and YouTube and been impressed, rest assured that the movie more than delivers on what they promise. The movie was made on a shoestring, and is quite possibly the greatest shoestring movie ever … I sure can't think of any other low budget film that can touch this. If I can luck out on a rush ticket Saturday, it will be the first time I've ever seen a movie TWICE at the festival, (I have a feeling that this film will take time to reach the American market – perhaps being toned down in the process -- and I've GOT to see it again.) This is certainly a helluva directing debut for musician Ben Drew (a.k.a. Plan B) who also wrote the pulsating soundtrack. I've never seen music more effectively tied to visuals than here, whether they're real time, time lapse, or stop action. Especially effective are transitional passages staged as rap music videos. There's plenty of great acting too, thanks to a large talented ensemble cast of relative unknowns. Especially impressive Is Riz Ahmed as the character who bridges several interconnected stories about life on the mean streets of East London over a several day period. And in a knockout debut, young Ryan De La Cruz is incredible as a naïve 13-year-old out to buy some weed who gets transformed into a killer in a very believable way. The realism is astounding. I've seen movies like ARGO and END OF WATCH at the fest, and while they were certainly well-made, they seem overly stagey in comparison (although, to be fair, just about ALL movies do). I voted this for best picture on my way out – I know that nothing I'm going to be seeing from this point on is going to top this. Not for the genteel, faint-of-heart, or British accent-averse, but if you're none of the above, prepare yourself for a real treat. Never a dull moment! Feel free to base your expectations on the available trailers and videos – they don't deceive in the slightest.

The film is an incredibly accurate portrait of that kind of environment. It wasn't two-dimensional in that the characters weren't just purely evil – the good in them also showed. I've met all those characters in the course of my work. The little boys terrorised into joining the criminal network are just so real. It demonstrated what I keep telling people: don't say a child chooses to join a gang; there is no choice. The cycle of brutalisation, with kids brutalising kids, the girl fights, all of it is so accurate. I want to get a copy of this film and deliver it to the prime minister and say: "This is another bit of your country that you don't talk about, you don't see, but nevertheless, large numbers of children and young people are trapped in this life." I've already spoken to an MP. I want to organise a showing in parliament. I'm going to call Plan B's people and see if they'll make it happen. For the past 16 years I've been trying to describe what these kids' lives are like. It's very difficult for people to visualise the way they live.

Trailer—Ill Manors