Main Stars: Riz Ahmed is an English actor who has also appeared in other films before starring in Ill Manors. He won awards for starring in Shifty, which is a British urban thriller. He won the award for being best actor. Ed Skrein is an English rapper and actor, who starred in Game of Thrones.
Plot: The film is about the lives of different characters on the street and their stories and their survival whilst living their urban life. The characters' stories are all interlocked and interwoven as there is a multi-strand narrative present within the film. The main focus of the film is about the lives of the drug dealers and the struggles that emerge from taking drugs and selling drugs, also being involved in gang violence and the wrong company.
Characters: Aaron - Riz Ahmed
The main character of the film is acquainted to the rest of the core characters. He is a drug dealer but he has particular principles which make him a moral character, compared to characters like Ed, who is immoral and rather egotistical as his main concern is himself. Aaron is a character who see's people for who they are and wants to help others, perhaps due to his upbringing being so disorientated, which made him into a better person.
Ed - Ed Skrein
Ed and Aaron are friends; Ed is also a drug dealer but is narcissistic and immoral as he makes Michelle prostitute herself in order to get enough money to buy a new phone, even when he knows that she did not steal it. This portrays his character to be self-centred and immoral. However, at the end of the film, his character almost makes this transition into morality as he knows that it is the right thing to do to save the baby.
Kirby - Keith Coggins
Kirby is the infamous drug dealer in the neighbourhood, who taught a young boy called Chris about the business, soon to become ordered around by him as he grew more dominant. Kirby is manipulative and asks Jody and Chanel to come to his house to meet a modelling agent as he thinks they have potential; making him a vindictive man.
Chris - Lee Allen
Chris was taught by Kirby and therefore became dominant and superior to him as he grew older. He is also a drug dealer but he seeks revenge as his half-sister Chanel is murdered by Jake, who is acquainted with Marcel (a local drug dealer)
Marcel - Nick Sagar
Marcel is a local drug dealer, who encountered Jake and 'recruited' him as part of his gang. Marcel is a weak character, who portrays himself as a superior individual, yet when he is within a situation where he is faced with his problems, he becomes weak and puts the blame on others, trying to save only himself.
Jake - Ryan De La Cruz
Jake is a vulnerable teenager, who just wants to be 'like the others.' When Marcel offers him his first sum of money, it tempts him to go further within the gang and therefore makes him want to do things for Marcel. Even though he is aware that what he was doing was immoral, he is forced into doing it due to his vulnerability as a teenager.
Michelle - Anouska Mond
Michelle is a prostitute and a drug addict. She wants to help Katya when she escapes her brothel with her baby and she tries to do so. She is a character who is taken advantage of but also wants to be taken advantage of as that is the only thing she knows.
Overall the acting in the film is realistic and accurately portrays the brutal side of urban life.
Genre: The genre of the film is urban, crime and drama. It accurately portrays the harsh reality of the situation and also reveals an ever further brutal picture of the truth. Conventionally, crime urban dramas involve drugs, sex and violence and 'ill Manors' perfectly conveys each of these subject matters. The difference with 'ill Manors' however is that there is a multi-strand narrative within the film that involve lyrical stories alongside a montage of what is happening, approaching the urban crime drama genre in a very original way. The mood of the film is rather dramatic and realistic.
Soundtrack: The soundtrack of the film is amazing, it complements the mood of the film perfectly and the two alongside one another work in great unison as a whole. Each rap told a story of the events alongside the cinematography which revealed a flashback of the occurrences. The use of the music not only created interest for the viewer but also portrayed the director, Ben Drew, as a lyrical genius who acts as a storyteller rather than 'just a rapper.'
Audience: The film is aimed at the youth market and the young adult market as the subject matter is relevant to them, causing them to relate to the film and understand the film. The film is also aimed at the working class as it is a low budget film yet acts as a powerful film with a strong message of urban life and the rapid downfall of infamously superior individuals.
I would definitely recommend this film to others as it is a great film; in terms of cinematography it has been filmed very cleverly and the narrative structure is interesting due to the use of the flashbacks and the editing used, making it visually very appealing.
Film Review:
'ill Manors' is a very unique film due to Plan B directing the film and also producing a soundtrack which has been used within the film, making it extremely captivating. The film captures urban life in it's climax; the harsh reality of infamous subject matters, such as violence, drug abuse, and prostitution are all addressed.
The main character Aaron, played by Riz Ahmed, is a drug dealer who is partners with Ed, Ed Skrein. The two almost contradict each other as there is a sense of morality within the character of Aaron as he feel sympathetic towards the character of Michelle, whilst Ed is immoral and narcissistic. The reality of the situations are presented in the most negative way, revealing a negative representation of young people and stereotyping them as useless and immoral. The severity of the situation is addressed and although the life of a drug dealer is presented 'pretty' at the beginning due to the money, we soon see the downfall and the hamartia of the characters as they are stuck within an illegal career that only has one inevitable outcome - the downfall, be it jail or death.
Plan B presents a multi-strand narrative, revealing the lives of many different characters, who are intertwined and interwoven in some form or another. The fact that each of their stories are told within one another, make it furthermore interesting and causes the audience to create personal relationships with them all. Furthermore, the use of the flashbacks and Plan B's raps make the film so interesting as we get to know the full history of each character and not one character is left out.
The conventional crime urban drama film would involve all the aspects involved in 'ill Manors,' as the main aspects of urban life need to be shown, such as drugs, sex and violence. The difference with this film however is that the characters all have something different to offer and all have different principles which impact the narrative of the story. The audience would therefore feel a connection with the characters and feel sympathy for most - even Ed. We see him as an immoral character at the beginning, who then makes the right choice and dies in the process of making the correct decision, which makes the audience sympathise with him.
IMDb has rated this film a 7.0 out of 10, reinforcing the fact that it is a great film. In addition to this, rotten tomatoes has scored the film 79% and the audience have scored it 71%. The fact that this low budget film, which was filmed on a budget for about £100,000 has received such good reviews supports the successes of the film. Also due to the film being a British film, it also shows that British low budget films can be successful.
The film is aimed at the youth market and the young adult market as the subject matter is relevant to them, causing them to relate to the film and understand the film. The film is also aimed at the working class as it is a low budget film yet acts as a powerful film with a strong message of urban life and the rapid downfall of infamously superior individuals.
I would definitely recommend this film to others as it is a great film; in terms of cinematography it has been filmed very cleverly and the narrative structure is interesting due to the use of the flashbacks and the editing used, making it visually very appealing. The film consists of all things associated to the subject matter of urban life, which makes it a highly realistic film. Although we may not see these matters happening in our lives, the fact that it has been filmed and shown to a wider audience addresses the issues of the problem. It also negatively portrays the subject and therefore could potentially deter certain individuals from either continuing to go down that path or from considering it. The negativity of the situation and the brutality of it makes it captivating and mesmerising to watch. I would also argue that due to Plan B having a large fan base initially, this film was always going to be successful as rappers support rappers and their fans will inevitably support him. This film is one like no other urban crime drama and more specifically British urban crime drama and shows authenticity within the working class life. However, it also reveals a negative representation of Britain but would still appeal to the audience as this is what they want to see - authenticity.
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