Adulthood
April 1st 2009 23:25
Sam has to stay one step ahead of Jay and his posse, he has to keep his wits about him as every second familiar and not-so-familiar face he sees might or might not want to trick him or spit in his face or stab him in the heart. Sam is befriended by Lexi (Scarlet Alice Johnson), a young cokehead, but is she genuine? Sam’s mother can only stare at him in abject sorrow. Claire (Madeleine Fairley) and Alisa (Red Madrell) don’t want a bar of him.
Noel Clarke as Sam
In an indirect way Adulthood felt like it was striving to be a melding of Larry Clark’s Kids (1995) and Martin Scorsese’s Mean Streets (1973). The truth of the matter is Alan Clarke’s Scum (1979) is a far more brutally realistic and affecting movie about the horror and moral degradation of the violence of youth and the pressure of the system than Adulthood or Kidulthood put together.
Sam broods while Lexi (Scarlet Alice Johnson) sulks
But it’s not all cold pork pies and luke-warm fish and chips; the character arc of Lexi is the movie’s most interesting and sustained feature, more so than Sam’s brooding, perpetually-hooded, I’ll shed a few tears even though I’m still pulling the same grim expression. Also strong is the performance of Adam Deacon as mad-as-a-hatter Jay, who’s got a gun and he definitely wants to use it. And Femi Oyeniran as Sam’s troubled brother Moony holds attention. Ben Drew (aka rapper Plan B) comes across as if he’s channeling a young Chris Penn! It’s a shame Ray Winstone’s daughter Jaime Winstone didn’t return to the sequel as she was the best thing about Kidulthood, but it seems she had other donkeys to punch.
Sam and Jay (Adam Deacon) share a Tarantino moment
If you enjoyed Kidulthood you might be intrigued as to the further exploits of Sam “as a man”, but Adulthood, takes one step forward and two steps back, only serving to show you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
Looks the same, but punches harder
Here's the trailer:
Adulthood DVD is courtesy of Hopscotch Films, many thanks!
| 68 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
