When Marco is beaten up by one of Timmy’s primary school friends the two boys wind up on rival sides of a never-ending cycle of postcode gang war in which there are no winners, only victims. This is a lyrical, polished yet unflinching film, that delivers the truth about the cycles that drive gang culture… Blue Story Read More
The Last Tree (Sundance London) 4 stars
Shola Amoo’s second feature is an accomplished and absorbing film, following the teenage Femi as he struggles to create his own identity and sense of place from disparate memories, experiences and expectations. Little confusions, which for teenagers can still loom large, are woven into far more serious choices. There’s a sweet scene when Femi, walking along… The Last Tree (Sundance London) Read More
Late Night (Sundance London) 3 stars
When late night chat show host Katherine Newbury is told she’s being replaced, she finally has to face her writers’ room. Literally, as most of the men in there have never even seen her in the flesh before. Those men are all white, and privileged, though not as hirsute as I was expecting. They’re lazy,… Late Night (Sundance London) Read More
No Shade 3.5 stars
“If I’m natural I’m bush, and if I put on a wig I’m fake”, cries the beautiful and elegant Jade in frustration, as a succession of terrible dates and a broken love affair leave her reeling. A successful black businesswoman, the twenty-something Jade is finding out that too many of the black men she meets… No Shade Read More
Get Out – 1 Minute Video Review Includes Video 4.5 stars
Click here for the full Get Out review
Lady Macbeth 5 stars
Lady Macbeth certainly isn’t a Victorian morality play but you could probably call it a Victorian intersectionality play. It is also a not-very-cautionary tale about power, including the power of silence. New bride Katherine (who has been effectively sold to her husband’s family) is much more in control than her Shakespearean namesake, and more ruthless, always crushing any… Lady Macbeth Read More