Ill Manors: film review

Ill Manors: film review

Ill manors directed by Ben Drew (Plan B) is an urban crime drama, which attempts and successfully portrays the harsh reality of life in London. The film covers subject matters of drugs, violence and sex, which are conventionally discussed in urban dramas.Throughout the film, it shows the different lifestyles of each character. The film is extremely intriguing and has the audience captivated at all times. During the movie, we follow the lives of 6 different characters, which all have different stories to tell the audiences about what they have been through; we see why they take upon certain actions in their life. Throughout the movie, the audience seem to start to sympathise with the characters along the way as we see what challenges they face and from what influences, through this we sympathise with the characters as we see the hardships that they have faced.

The narrative came from facts that either Plan B witnessed or actually lived , only tuned to heighten the drama, but not all from his imagination. Plan B conveys the different lives of each character and the problems they face. However, not only does he do this, he links each problem with another character creating a sought of cyclical multi-strand narrative. This is something effectively Plan B does as it balances out the different emotions of the audience but also the journey they have gone with those characters, it allows the audience to see different sides to the character which they can then connect to and some create personal identities with. 
Its set in Forest Gate, London, the film starts with characters Ed (Ed Skrein) and Aaron (Riz Ahemd) drug-managing. We see the representations of urban life being displayed in the film. The medications, cash and brutality had harmed individuals genuinely. The two fundamental characters (Aaron and Ed) had impacted a portion of the general population in their bequest into this terrible life. Plan B effectively permits the audeince to make individual associations with each of the characters. This was vital, as though this didn't happen individuals wouldn't think about the hardships and wouldn't have sensitivity for the characters. For instance, the two primary character's were great companions which numerous individuals can relate with having and the two would bring out a greater amount of one another's identities all through the film. 
The soundtrack suited each scene well and would become a sound bridge into another scene. The soundtrack acted as a narration for the film, where we would almost get an exposition for each character for each scene and so the audience is aware of their background and circumstances. The soundtrack also emphasised the fact that the antagonist’s past has created the person that they are today and that their current behaviours are almost out of their control as they have not known anything else. 

The audience for this would be a teenage (18 and above) and young adult because of the explicit nature of the film. It would be suitable for older ages but the film may not appeal to them as much as they are not as associated with youth culture. It may be equally suitable for male and female, however it may be a more predominantly male audience due to the violence and rap music which is usually associated with boys. This film is also more suited for a British audience as it is a fully British film and funded by British money (Micro Wave films London).Particularly in light of the fact that the film is focused at: a youthful group of onlookers (16-30 year olds), struggler and standard would be more keen on this film. 
In my opinion, the characters are not so unique as they share the same generic morals that people in the same predicament share, they do what they must to make a living and survive- no matter what the circumstance. One of the protagonists Ed who is played by Ed Skrien was an important acting role as the directors would need a few big named British actors to play the role in a British produced film. The character of Ed, although bad was portrayed in his society as one of the good guys- a hero and someone to look up to. World wide audiences may watch this film and it may impact them as they would be seeing a different side of London  but the domestic audience may or may not be more shocked to see that this realistic interpretation of London is happening in real life. It may be a reminder or a wake up call to show that more needs to be done to help young vulnerable people in economically deprived areas; which from the TEDx lecture Plan B was what made him want to do the movie.