'Bullet Boy' is an understated drama about an ex-convict trying to go straight in London's black community. The piece is nicely assembled and acted, and makes good visual use of its Hackney setting, but there's nothing in the story which is ultimately surprising. I also have one quibble: the film features a fair amount of gun usage, but we don't see any underlying criminal activity, which is (I think) usually the root cause of shootings. On the other hand, one strength is that the world of the characters is not depicted as a squalid ghetto, but rather as a place in which one can imagine real people living in. Overall, this is not a bad film; but it is a little bland.
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paul2001sw-126 April 2006
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tezzzaaa26 September 2005I would like to start off saying that I appreciated the movie for dealing with the black community in London. No rude cockney gangsters, catchy crime scams or laughably stupid dope dealers. The family this movie deals with is a single mum home with two sons, one just out of prison, the other still too young to be involved in anything hazardous, but looking up at his brother and already copying some of his ways.
I enjoyed the language and the characters who were all convincing and complex enough but, how carefully put down they were, the more obvious and stereotypical were the things happening to them. Everything going from bad to worse, who plays with fire is gonna get burnt. And then the ultimate contrast of either sinking into crime and sin (devil), or choosing the righteous path and go to church every Sunday (god).
This easy moralism hurt the rest of the film. It made things predictable. It was like a newspaper article collage, one shock after the other. It took away much of the complexity that I found in the characters themselves. It really is a shame because the development of the characters could have been much more subtle and would have fit in better with the style of the movie that deals with a gritty context matter but managed to use a soft and sometimes almost dreamy camera and score, not unlike other recent British films, such a 'Morvern Callar' and '16 Years of alcohol'. -
MrChi30 November 2005Saul Dibb's debut feature stars So Solid's Ashley 'Asher D' Walters as Ricky, a parolee returning to Hackney's infamous murder mile. He is hoping to remain on the straight and narrow but this proves difficult as he's re-encompassed by the same violent climate he left and the need to maintain honour while preserving his reputation is the code to live by.
There is little to fault this British Movie. Shot on 16mm and on a tight budget of ca.48k, what we are given is a fly-on-the-wall view of life on the streets and the futility of Britain's gun culture. This didn't have to be shot in Hackney, but anywhere would have suited the scenario of disadvantaged youths trying to keep their heads above water in the increasingly gangsterish streets of Britain.
Dibb, the director, is very careful not to preach to us. The closet similarities and comparisons made will point an out-dated and clichéd finger at John Singleton's 'Boyz in da Hood' and Spike Lee's 'Do The Right Thing'. Although these two films crystallised (inner) racial feuding and violence in America, Dibb keeps his message a little closer to his chest as the audience decide who's the true hero, villain or victim - if any. This film plays as a theatrically scripted tragedy, which is sensed from the opening where the young Curtis (Luke Fraser) goes to meet his paroled brother.
It is hard to pinpoint the film's genre and exactly what the plot is. Largely unknown actors, a purpose-built raggedy script (with plenty of improv) revolving on just-happen-to-be circumstances leads to a sense of a horrific reality. Here, kids try to become men too young, and violence is the sole key to respect even if it is borne from a childish dispute like a minor traffic incident as in the film.
It works and it works very well. All character development is sidelined for a streamed view of street life. Clare Perkins plays the mother who has no control over her boys despite her strenuous efforts, the reformed Preacher (Curtis Walker) and Wisdom (Leon Black) all have their own back story, which we are told in a sentence, focusing our attentions on the Brothers. Each character represents a social template in one of life's cycles, Ricky and Wisdom are the present and his younger brother could easily be the future while the rest of the cast represent those inadvertently embroiled in street politics and gun ethics.
Massive Attack's Robert Del Naja delivers a haunting theme to end the movie, as the filmmakers ask no questions but leave them in sight. Dibb, who is traditionally a documentary maker is all too aware of how to enter the psyche of gritty subject matter with previous works on street life and shop lifting he wants us to see all the angles, the choices these people make and their consequences. It is then up to us to draw our own conclusions.
Ricky wants to be the ideal brother for Curtis but the street will not let him. He wants to knock some sense into his over zealous friend Wisdom but loyalty won't let him. Curtis is a lovable character because he has the innocence of youth, which his environment is too eager to snatch as (peer) pressures encroach on him and his brother's good intentions are contrasted by the actuality of his actions. Curtis is the natural choice to become a Bullet Boy, like others around him and the responsibility is left to the one character that should traditionally have none.
This is a powerful fete in film-making and serves topic matter that is relevant and garnished with gritty realism that you cannot help but feel for all those involved. -
bob the moo19 April 2005Having served his time for stabbing another teenager, Ricky is released from prison and collected by his little brother and his friend Wisdom. Arriving back in London, Wisdom accidentally damages a car of another young man, but Ricky makes him walk away when things escalate towards a fight. However, when Wisdom realises that the word on the street is that he is a p*ssy, he revisits the young man and shoots his dog dead. Ricky tries to resolve the situation to avoid getting drawn back into the violence that landed him in jail in the first place. Meanwhile, younger brother Curtis watches all these things with admiring eyes.
Basically if you can't work out where the film is headed just from my very basic plot summary then you simply haven't seen enough American ghetto movies and indeed, one of the weaknesses in this film is that it is predictable from not only the moment it starts, but even the moment you are in the lobby looking at the poster. The message is simple but an important one and it is one of the reasons you should try and see it. That it is predictable is surprisingly not a problem and somehow the film is still engaging throughout and I'm not entirely sure why it manages to do it. I think what carries the film is how very natural and down to earth the whole thing is; it feels like real life, the characters feel like real people and for this reason it is engaging because we, the audience, care even if deep inside we know where it is going.
The writing and direction is a big part of making this work. The writing takes the "no way out of the ghetto" cliché and puts it across in such a way that it is not glamorised; the violence starts over nothing and is never anything more than petty and a total waste of time. The small scale of everything within the story is also engaging the violence is not between "gangstas" "rolling" in "Escalades" or "Lexus" but rather teenagers who live in tiny flats with basic furniture and minor drug habits. Although the sentiment may match those of characters in "hood" movies, the real sense of the small is effective and convincing. The direction helps this, with no flashy camera-work and the feeling of London streets and cramped flats. To me this realism was important mainly because, in the UK, we are constantly assailed by a presentation of reality in R'n'B music of bling, expensive cars and women in shorts; meanwhile UK cinema we have an obsession on cool guns and gangsters that comes from "Lock, Stock" and countless copies. If anything the overwhelming of the market with such images and hype make it all the more important to have a film like Bullet Boy do good business to counter it.
Ironically, lead actor Walters is one of those that has had a part in presenting a life that is outside of the reach of nearly all of us (fast cars, guns, violence, drugs and girls) by his part in videos and songs with So Solid Crew. Indeed the group themselves have had their fair share of headlines over shootings and cars and I would like to think that in some way this film was a decision Walters made to try and redress the balance. Regardless of his motives though, Walters is strong; he is natural and convincing as a black teenager in a high rise world of posturing and trivia and he does it without glamorising it or showing a concern for keeping up his So Solid personae or image. He is given good support from Perkins, Fraser and Black among others all of whom add to the feeling of a convincing portrayal of daily reality for many. They don't feel the need to play up to black stereotypes of anger and hardships and they are simply convincingly real people.
Overall this is a predictable film that treads a very familiar path but the natural delivery in all aspects mean it come across as convincing and engaging simply put, we care and we stay with it for that reason. If nothing else, see it to try and counteract the perversion of reality and glamorisation of violence that is pushed in the name of selling records. -
This is an infuriating movie. It is not about a 12 year-old boy, and yet, in the end, it is. It's about two late teen mates on an increasingly slippery slope. Bullet Boy is infuriating because, in the end, everyone has failed this boy, whom is one of the lads' little brother. For example, his brother lets him down by bringing a gun into his home, first hiding it (in the boy's bedroom!), and then, when the boy finds it, allowing the gun to stay in the bedroom! One could argue his mother has let him down by allowing the elder brother, fresh from prison, home at all. If you see the movie you'll see what I mean. I could go on. Essentially I think that is the message of the movie. If you don't take enough serious attention to what is going on then tragedy may strike. But it's hard to watch. Bullet Boy ( a most misleading title!) is a really well-honed, professional and important movie, great kudos go to all concerned, beautifully filmed, cast and acted, and the soundtrack is awesome. It's not an original story, but it does end with flair, and it is daringly authentic, and at times artistic, and the BBC can be genuinely proud of it.
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Ali_John_Catterall5 November 2009Back in 1980, Franco Rosso's Babylon, starring Aswad's Brinsley Forde, told the story of young black Britain under siege. Filmed around Deptford, Lewisham and Brixton in south London and financed by the National Film Council, it drew a fundamentally honest, unsentimental portrait, employing a rich, unsubtitled patois. Understandably, much of the film also dealt with racism - white on black - and its tragic repercussions.
Twenty-five years on, the most significant (and depressing) thing about Saul Dibb's study of black Londoners is its frank recognition that the hate and violence has since turned inward - manifested in gun crime.
In Bullet Boy, 20-year-old Ricky (Walters, aka So Solid Crew's Asher D) is paroled from youth custody and attempts to rekindle a relationship with his girlfriend Shea (Samuels). Hooking up with his hot-headed friend - the ironically named Wisdom (Black) - he almost immediately runs into trouble with rival Godfrey (Lawson) in a road rage incident. As the tit-for-tat feud escalates, Ricky's impressionable 12-year-old brother Curtis (Fraser) discovers a gun which Wisdom has given Ricky for his protection - and the murderous cycle of violence continues.
This is a film of firsts. Arriving some 15 years after a brace of similarly-themed American films, such as John Singleton's Boyz N The Hood, this is the first film to spotlight gun violence in Britain's black community, and makes an interesting comparison. It's documentary maker Dibb's first feature too, having previously made 'Electric Avenue' and 'The Tottenham Ayatollah' for Channel 4 television. And it's Asher's (okay, Walters') movie debut.
It's a cute - and astute - stroke of casting: he'd read the script while in prison for gun possession. And the cast is one of the things Bullet Boy has got right, featuring gutsy and unsentimental performances, particularly from the all too convincing lead, but also from stand-up comedian Curtis Walker as a former bad-boy-turned-pastor and Perkins as a pragmatic matriarch.
The use of non-professional actors also imbues proceedings with documentary-style naturalism, matched by the film's east London locations, photographed by Marcel Zyskind in pitiless natural light, and employed very effectively during a recurring motif of a dead dog floating on a river like the ghost at the feast.
Though Dibb cannot hope to encompass the whole subject matter in a 90-minute film, his focus on how gun culture affects the entire family unit is an intelligent approach, making the wider issue accessible - and subsequently harder hitting.
If certain sequences appear heavy-handed - 12-year-old Curtis playing shoot-em-up videogames as a prescient prelude to tragedy; the Godfather-style juxtaposition between a church sermon and a murder - well, perhaps that's the way it ought to be. -
michael-l-powell17 May 2007This was a great film. I have been watching a lot of urban type UK films lately and this one is by far my favorite so far. The Uk ghettos are very similar to Canada where I live. When people think of Canada and the UK they don't seem to think there are any ghettos. Where I live in Toronto, Ontario, we are influenced by the States a bit but much more by the sizable Jamaican presence in the area. The film did a good job at depicting how such small issues can grow into something very big and life changing. Ashley Waters is very talented. His performance was very believable.
So far I've seen "Rolling with the Nines"(Sucked), "Kidulthood"(Very good), "Life & Lyrics"(Not too bad, but kinda corny). Does anyone know of any other good movies of this same type to suggest? Peace -
Yukster_uk10 April 2005Went to see this because of Ashley Waltersplaying Ricky- he was outstanding in Storm Damage and it is good to see him on a comeback. The film got BBC funding whereas Plague- another UK drama dealing with similar issues did not. Good film worth going to see but not without faults. The Wisdom character is shown as an obvious bad influence,but unlike infilms like Mean Streets and Pope of Greenwich Village, the relationship between him and Ricky is not very developed- we do not feel the loyalty that Ricky tells us he has for his friend. The film would have been much better to show more of Wisdom and his worldview, but maybe the film makers did not want to glamourize crime. The Curtis and Rio characters were very well played- these child actors had humour and charm and the friendship seemed real. One of the best scenes is when Curtis, Ricky's brother, has to make a humiliating apology. The movie thrived on stillness- Ricky and Curtis stare and think very cinematic ally.
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squeakyorm14 January 2005I wasn't expecting too much of this film before I saw it, but I have to say I was wrong to think it would be dull. Although American audiences -- and, in fact, non-London-dwelling audiences -- probably won't appreciate it for its wonderful depiction of east London, I find myself for once thankful that I live in Hackney. Some scenes around the Hackney Marshes and Lea Valley are astonishingly lush, to the extent that I had my doubts they were actually filmed there, because they present such a contrast to the grubby streets I'm used to, and which are portrayed in other parts of the film.
One of the other things that struck me was the accuracy of the dialogue -- I know this sounds a bit silly, but it's easy to get wrong, and in Bullet Boy there wasn't a word out of place. Lines like "that dog's like my brethren" are faintly amusing, but people do actually speak like that, and Bullet Boy got it exactly right.
I think Bullet Boy is a beautiful film, and have in fact only one gripe besides perhaps its inaccessibility for people who aren't English: the editing-over of a sign at a train station from the station name to 'Platform 2'. I'm an appalling pedant. -
jboothmillard24 April 2006I am guessing the reason for the title is because the youngest member of the main focused family uses a gun, and shoots his friend in the chest, luckily he lived. Anyway, this story is basically showing the black community and lifestyle of the UK, whether that involves family, drugs and guns. Starring Luke Fraser as Curtis, Ashley Walters as Ricky, Sylvester Williams as Neville, Curtis Walker as Leon, Rio Tison as Rio, Jamie Winstone as Natalie, Jadiel Vitalis as Meadow, Leon Black as Wisdom, Chris Callendar as Ricky's Soliciter, Louise Delamere as Probation Officer, Des Hamilton as School Teacher, Clark Lawson as Godfrey, Claire Perkins as Beverely, Sharea-Mounira Samuels as Shea and Greg Tanner as Police Officer/SO19 Officer. I only had to see this because I may be studying it for my College Film Studies exam, but it is a good film that shows the black community of Britain. Good!
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Splattii15 September 2004I saw this at the Toronto Film Festival. A lady came up before the movie and told the audience we were the first audience to ever see the film Bullet Boy. I'll be honest and say that it excited me, as I've never had that opportunity before and I am an avid fan of the genre. Unfortunately, my excitement ended there.
There is nothing about this film at all that puts it ahead of anything within its genre. It's the typical troubled youth/street/crime movie that people have been making for years. Knowing that the director had previously been known for documentaries I was hoping for a bit more. I didn't get it. In fact, the basis for the entire feud/plot within the film is asinine in itself. It just wasn't believable, and the acting was just average at best.
After seeing films like Pixote, Glue Sniffer or even Manito, I just can't put this film in the same category or class as them. It just doesn't have what it takes. It was only 89 minutes and it dragged. I actually would almost suggest this is an English version of Karim Dridi's Bye-Bye...only worse.
I'm sorry I couldn't be more positive about this film. I went in with high hopes, and I was looking forward to letting others know about it...unfortunately I'll be telling people to pass, and concentrate on much better films. -
Axaxaxas_mlo13 March 2005Bullet Boy is the sort of film that deserves to be seen by far more people than are, unfortunately, ever likely to see it. It's utterly gripping the whole way through - almost every scene is filled an unbearably tense air of looming tragedy, as events spiral out of control. The cast (a mixture of professionals and non-actors) all give superb, deeply honest performances, most notably Ashley Walters and Claire Perkins.
Where most British films that strive for an air of realism fail by simply trying too hard, laying on the "grittiness" far too thick, Bullet Boy always seems completely natural, unforced and unfailingly true-to-life. While it's undeniably a fairly bleak and upsetting tale, the film is never boring, never depressing, never anything less than wholly involving. Crafting something genuinely special with a very limited budget, this is a great feature debut from documentary maker Dibb. You shouldn't see Bullet Boy because it's an "issue" film (although the issue it addresses is extremely important); you should see it because it's a brilliant film. -
Kane_Beasty23 October 2022This was a great Adaption and Real Life Look at how hard it is to keep it real and escape the connections of bad peers and changing your life after Prison. So many people have tried to make it out and succumb to the pressure or problems of their peers and the Keeping it real stigma in the ghetto . This also shows how you can negatively impact your siblings and bring down your family by your past and present mistakes.
The Budget seemed low and the movie was dry at times but they make up for that with the good actors and good storyline .
I give it like a 7.5 it could of been better but it did a great job for what it is. -
"Gritty," "real," "uncompromising," "hard-hitting," just some of the buzzwords that I've heard and read in the description of what, ultimately, turns out to be, or at least attempts to be, social commentary on street culture in 21st century London.
Whilst the film very much lives up to the aforementioned words (something British titles are always generally very apt in), I can't help but feel like I was cheated out of an actual story and instead presented with an 80 minute advertisement on how bad the pitfalls of the gun. To me, the entire movie was a bit of a waste; devoid of wit, humour and or any form of actual derision, we get taken through a series of one depression invoking scene to another. The melon coli that consumes and drives the film forward only helps to underwhelm one further in what, we already know, is already going to be a pretty morbid outing. A sense, or feeling of hope wouldn't have went a miss either, but with the premise being so linear and uncompromising, these are areas that were either sacrificed or merely completely forsaken, which ultimately proves to be a bit of a shame.
The importance of the weapon in question becomes so overwhelming, that I feel it, this inanimate object, has much more dimensions than any one of the films main protagonists: It goes from a reminder of an ex con's past, to a secret that must be kept hush, to a thing of power, intimidation and hegemonic dominance, to a child's play thing and finally to a hot potato, all the while destroying each and every thing in it's path, dividing families, ending relationships and every other inevitable cliché that comes with the arming of the gun; unoriginality personified.
Whist I wasn't particularly taken with the premise, or in fact what the film was supposed to be alluding to, I did find solace in the performances of the two primary characters.
Ashley Walters, of "So Solid Crew" Fame, gives a noteworthy performance as Ricky, just released from prison and seemingly trying to get his life on the straight and narrow. Whilst totally believable in the role I feel the lack f direction the character was given and the writing put in front of Walters was bitterly disappointing. As the main protagonist I wanted, so dearly, to get behind his character but time after time he drew nothing but scorn from me as he seems far too content to lay stagnant in his own mediocrity and overtly abrasive whenever challenged. Whilst I see this as very much the teenage stereotype it didn't really help to teach me anything I wasn't already aware of, nor did it help to bring anything new to the plate. Plus, the end scene didn't have quite the impact I think the director was attempting to build toward as it was nothing short of inevitable. Rather than do the 180 you hope to see from this type of character we don't even see him undertake a 360 and instead he remains very much still and whilst he does air his objections to the gun at points, he seemingly learns little and develops in a manner that is very frustrating.
Luke Frazer, playing Walters' younger brother, Curtis, is equally compelling as the starry eyed, awe-stricken admirer of Walters. Eager to copy his brother at every turn Frazer was both believable and convincing in the way he went about the task. Thanks to the way the story developed and the characters panned out, it was his journey that, ultimately, became the most interesting of the pair, as this impressionable youngster becomes so emblazed in admiration that tragedy almost befalls the boy within the film. It is a testament to Frazer (and the direction of that whole 10-20 minute period) that at a point when my frustration was really starting to take hold, he pulled me back in and, at once, had me round the proverbial gonads, yearning for things to work out for the kid. Understated, but very, very thought evoking.
All in all, a film that works because of the performances from the above two parties, as nothing else was particularly stand-out; familiar premise, familiar characters, familiar feel and all-too familiar sense of being preached to rather than being educated.
I'd recommend giving it a look and appreciating the performances - and, to it's credit, I can see a lot of people clinging on to the fact that the movie is "real," "cool" and or "exactly like me and my mates" - but not a film I'll be in a hurry to see again anytime soon and I can't help but feel it was an opportunity wasted. -
I saw this film last night at the Tricycle theatre and I have to say it showed the real look at 'road' life as we know it for our young black brothers. Being Black British myself I really felt the film through the eyes of the mother, Ricky and Curtis, it was a brilliant watch. You may call it typical of movies, but this was a British film with edge and class at getting the message right! I was brought to tears on the way home remembering how many of our brothers are going through and have been through (RIP) this similar scenario, so I know why I appreciate being a mentor to uplift my community
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PSIcological20041 September 2005Firstly, I have to say, I didn't like this film. So why then, you might think, have i given it a good rating. It is down solely to the respect i have for it. Never before have i seen a film portray the tough life that is experienced by many in the tough streets of London or anywhere else for that matter, quite so realistically. At no point does it become unnatural or over the top, it always seems to draw you in because of its sense of realism. Like i have said, i did not like this film. Ordinarily this is not my cup of tea, the type of film i find myself fast forwarding because there are certain parts i don't want to see. However, I give my full congratulations to the director because i can see that it is a genuinely good film that i can respect, if not like.
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wellthatswhatithinkanyway21 April 2005STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs
Ricky (Ashley Walters) has just been released from prison for stabbing another teenager.His pal Wisdom (Leon Black) and little brother Curtis (Luke Fraser) come along to pick him up and he ingratiates himself back into the community he's been apart from for a while.All he wants,after serving his time in prison,is to start again and re-build his life and possibly move away with his girlfriend Beverley (Claire Perkins) and for awhile this seems like a real possibility.But then,an accident involving a smashed wing mirror lands him and Wisdom in a spot of bother with a rival gang.You and I would just exchange insurance details,but in 'da 'ood',things just don't work that way and a tit-for-tat war ensues that builds up to end in tragedy.
This is such a small,independent film that it's a shame it probably won't reach out to a much broader audience,unless it ends up becoming a sleeper hit like The Full Monty,and lets all hope that happens.With the state of gun control/crime in the country at quite a shocking epidemic (especially in Nottingham!) Bullet Boy is,if nothing else,a very timely film released to speak out to the youth of Britain of it's shocking consequences.
Lead star Walters (formerly of So Solid Crew fame) is a very choice actor to play the role,as he previously served time for illegal firearm possession,and so he's sort of further re-paying his debt to society here.The main problem area of gun crime does seem to be in the black communities,so in the Hackney area of London is where the film is set.The script is made up almost entirely of characters spitting heavy black lingo that might be a bit over-whelming for the novice or for those simply not fond of that way of talking.The film presents a very real and gritty presentation of modern black culture and their place in society.
It pushes more-or-less all the right buttons,but possibly the biggest strength of the film is the compelling characters.Ricky is sincere and blatant in his efforts to go straight and promote peace to his 'brederin.'Wisdom is trapped as the guy who has to prove himself to those around him who deride him,not to mention Curtis as the innocent child on a collision course to be corrupted if the forces around him don't change.But the supporting players are very good too,such as Bev,Ricky and Curtis's bewildered,worn-out mum and her new boyfriend who has a chequered history of his own but has found God and hopes to inspire his following to those closest to him.They are very believable characters and,more-than-that,they are very real characters,and it sort of goes without saying that everyone involved gives fine performances to make them this compelling.
Just today,Tony Blair has told us that violent crime is down in the country,something I have a bit of trouble swallowing,but which may or may not be true all the same.But I get the feeling somewhere like the hood may be a place he hasn't made any effort to change,just an area where the problems continue but people make a note of 'avoiding.'Bullet Boy is a fictional story,but,the chilling thing is it could so easily be true and doubtless there are many cases where a story that is almost exactly the same does happen there in everyday life.In the end,the director throws it down to one of the youngest cast members to deliver the films most powerful scene of symbolism and social commentary by tossing the gun that has caused him,his family and his close friends so much misery and suffering into the river instead of going out with it and winding up another statistic like his brother,as if to say:For God's sake,stop killing each other and make peace.'It is very powerful and effective,much like the film itself.It's the best film I've seen so far this year,that's for sure.**** -
Vogul21 February 2010Over the last 20 years the majority of British films are about how horribly poverty stricken the UK is and how our youth doesn't stand a chance of a good life whilst they live on the mean streets of British cities. The British film industry is obsessed with the idea of 'broken Britain'. Trainspotting, This is England, Kidulthood, Football Factory, Kes and From London to Brighton.
Bullet Boy is just another British movie added to that list. The main character expresses a desire to go straight yet he still insists on hanging around with dead beats who carry guns and fight with gang members over nothing. I was never convinced that he did want to go straight as there was nothing stopping him pursuing an education or a trade. In fact it would have been a breath of fresh air if he had of gone straight and we had a character who turned his life around. Instead he spends his time helping his friend trying to commit murder. I felt no sympathy when he is predictably shot by another teen at the end of the film, which is sad because at the beginning of the film I really liked the entire family and their desire for success. I believe the makers missed a great chance to show the world that success belongs to those who are willing to really strive for it (like the Pursuit of Happiness).
I know the purpose of this film was to try and paint a realistic picture of what life is like for black teens living in working class areas of Britain but don't we already have enough films in the UK with that very same plot? Isn't it time these talented producers and writers give Britains youth something to aspire to and show them a better life is just around the corner?
I applaud the makers of Bullet Boy for not loading the film full of mindless violence in order to try and get success through shock factors (like Kidulthood, Football Factory) but at the same time this movie offers nothing new to a long list of British films that are effectively dull and depressing to watch. There is no happy ending to this movie or any of the others I have mentioned. -
I saw Bullet Boy at a preview screening by Verve Pictures; I had been given the tickets and didn't know what to expect. The only thing I knew was that the main part was played by a member of So Solid Crew, Asher D (Ashley Walters), and so I was maybe a bit sceptical as to his acting abilities.
Ultimately, however, this film was brilliant: shocking, tender, wonderfully acted and beautifully directed. The dialogue is convincingly authentic and the camera work evoked a documentary. Ashley Walters is outstanding, his physical presence on film given weight by his subtle performance; Luke Fraser shines as his younger brother Curtis. The pervading sense that it is all going to end in an horrific manner, is tempered by the feeling at the end that there is also some hope for the future in the form of the younger boy, who attempts to escape from the endless cycle of gun crime.
I came out of this film with a sense of the huge disparity between different people's experiences of London; there's no glimpse of Richard Curtis here. It's an urgent and heart-breaking wake-up call about the realities of gun crime in the UK.
Go to see this. -
alantaylor16829 August 2005Well it's not often that we in the UK have a film made about inner city life from the perspective of the Afro Caribbean community, the last example that I can remember was the underrated Babylon way back in 1980. So I had high expectations when I heard about Bullet Boy, a film that has been touted as the British version of La Haine! Well La Haine it is not! I agree that the use of dialogue and environment gives this film an authenticity that has been missed in other British films of late, but my concern is that this film predictably ends sadly.
The film intelligently deals with the escalating problem of black on black violence that is sadly all to common in London, but I'm concerned that film makers now use type-casting in plot as opposed to characters which is equally as damaging. Saul Dibb had a great opportunity to make a film that could be both entertaining and inspirational to us all, but sadly missed and created a film that only reinforces the idea that to be a young black male in London the only future is violence & tragedy -
02hbartosik-120 April 2005The most immediate thing that struck me about this film was it's perfect imitation of life - unbelievably believable, this move was EXACTLY like life is like, the accents perfect, the language appropriate, the whole story fantastic. I agree that if you do not live in London or at least have contact to the underground world you may not understand the movie very well, but rest assured this is a milestone in a whole genre of English ghetto movies - if you've seen the film 'Juice' starring Tupac Shakur you'll see a lot of connections in structure and plot but at the end of the day it's a unique, brilliant, enjoyable and in my opinion, perfect film.
The actors are all skilled to the point where there acting is flawless - the 'bad guy' is not a generic evil psychotic skitzo, but rather just a down to earth nasty person. The hero, Ashley Waters, is lovable, conflicting and effortlessly cool as the friend, Wisdom, is both loyal but annoying at times (just like real friends can be!). The mother is loving and over protective (but not in a boring way, rather a sympathy evoking way which works excellently as she tries soooo hard to hide her pain) and the brother and his friend are both lovable and cool as well. A great film, on par with any Americano film, this is up there with Snatch, Lock Stock, Layer Cake and Trainspotting - it's different from all of them, but it is about crime and it is set in the slums of London, but rest assured it's original because I can't shake the feeling that stuff like this happens every day - even if it is a fascinating tale of revenge, deceit, horror and love. Ten stars! Go see now! -
anubis65211 November 2004This film was painful to sit through. Went to the screening at the London film festival and couldn't believe the stereo typical representations with dialogue so bad (it made me cringe) I couldn't understand how the film council can spend tax payers money on something so pointless.
I went with two black friends of mine to see the film. For a film that's supposed to be of serious nature they laughed all the way through it as if it was a comedy. I assumed I wasn't getting the jokes but later found out they were laughing at it rather than with it.
It was obvious that the executives at film council have none or very little knowledge about the black community in London. I've worked with many black children/ youth and I couldn't recognise many of the characters that appeared on the film.
I wasn't surprised to find out that the producers of this very awful film are actually executives at the film council. NO WONDER. This isn't a film I recommend even when it's on TV. -
dickback30 April 2005It's a bad, very bad movie.
Well, for people a real realistic movie is a good thing. For me it is not. Life is also predictable, bad, nasty, trivial, senseless, sometimes. Maybe that's the reason for people say that this film is real.
Too many common places: you're black, you're a criminal, you're doomed and cursed, whatever you do you'll end up by shooting or being shot by someone; don't let the kids play with the weapons, it could be dangerous; and then there are those who go to the church, and then they are good, very good...
Before this one, I hadn't seen such a bad movie. That's perhaps the reason for I never noticed how important the photography itself is important in a movie. In this one, every scene shot in daytime, outdoor, is clearly and annoyingly blue. They didn't even care to correct the colour balance. Oh! I've "rated" more than 300 movies in this database so far, and this (3/10) is my lowest ever. -
I went to the Premiere of Bullet Boy at the Corner House last night and was very impressed with the film. The film has a very powerful, positive message, and i think it is a very thought provoking film which deserves to be seen by as many people as possible. The film deals with the issue of gun crime is a very realistic, non stereotypical way, and gives a very good insight into a world which many of us have probably never come across. The film ends with what i thought was a positive message of hope and inspiration. This film is definitely worth a look!!! I would also like to add that the director and lead actor- Ashley Walters both came across as really nice people, who obviously have a great passion for films and the issues within this one. Is was very refreshing to see 2 fairly young people with such an intelligent, positive, polite manner. I was very impressed!
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Ruskington17 April 2021A horrible story about horrible people in a horrible place. Weak characters, wooden acting and unambitious cinematography make for one seriously amateurish experience that, even at under 90 minutes runtime, feels like it's never going to end.