Adulthood (2008) User Reviews (35)

Well crafted and engaging film

[Info-1367 · 7/10 · 14 May 2008]

Having just seen this film at a BAFTA preview, I felt that it deserves a favourable review. Noel Clarke has realised a well written, captivating film. Melodrama and action is finely balanced, moving the storyline smoothly along whilst capturing all the relevant aspects of the protagonists journey. There were one or two contrivances that were a little beyond expected reality, but they weren't totally unreasonable and only served to highlight the overall realism of the storyline. It is after all a drama and some concessions need to made to keep the suspense. The characters are all extremely believable and the cast all contribute with superb performances, bar none. Noel Clarke's own performance is outstanding, and is the bedrock of the film. Having only been aware of him from his appearances in Dr.Who, I was pleasantly surprised at the depth of character he manages to portray. The dialogue seems to be authentic in style and avoids making the actors seem like caricatures, as can so easily be done in films of a similar theme. Brian Tufano's cinematography was well measured and help to maintain a good balance between some nice editing, great soundtrack and solid direction.

I think Noel Clarke should be justly proud of his achievement in writing , starring and directing this genuinely entertaining film. If I seem to be lauding too much praise, it is because this film didn't fail to deliver where so many other low budget films do. It is a film with honesty, heart, action and integrity without preaching or patronising the viewer.

I liked it and I'm a cynical sod, so if anyone sees Noel Clarke, tell him he done alright.

Darcus (not Howe)

As good as "Kidulthood", if not better

[seawalker · 7/10 · 7 July 2008]

"Adulthood" was the sequel to "Kidulthood". "Kidulthood" was certainly not a subtle movie and neither was "Adulthood".

"Adulthood" was low budget, rough around the edges, harsh, brutal, and totally engrossing. Sometimes the acting of the young cast was variable, but it's best performers - writer/director/lead actor Noel Clarke, Scarlet Alice Johnson (in the role obviously originally intended to be Jamie Winstone's 'Becky' character from "Kidulthood") and Adam Deacon - managed to imbue their roles with a ring of truth.

"Adulthood" got by on relevance (the debate about gang culture and gun crime is constantly in British newspapers at the moment), raw power and energy. In fact "Adulthood" had enough raw power and energy to silence an unruly audience of mobile phone carrying teenage boys, wearing baseball caps and trousers that were too big for them. At least it did in the screening that I attended. Maybe they were shocked at seeing versions of themselves up on the big screen?

I thought that "Adulthood" was as good as "Kidulthood", if not better.

There is so much more to Noel Clarke than being known as a "Doctor Who" companion. You mark my words, he is a name to watch.

Brilliantly summarised movie..definitely worth a watch

[satydg · 8/10 · 3 July 2008]

I had not watched Kidhood, the prequel to this movie but was so damn moved by Adulthood. I later realised that you don't need to watch the part 1 of it. Sam , the character was strong and genuine and in-your-face types and the movie, for sure, portrayed the underground life of the youngsters in the UK.

Worth a watch for sure and recommended for a critics award. The violence scenes were brutal at times but am sure the movie demanded the same.

Hats off to the director for bringing out raw talents out of these young actors and highlighting the growing problems of young crimes in this country.

Effective sequel

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 1 September 2011]

I found ADULTHOOD to be a decent film and one which actually surpasses the original. The reason is that I prefer the plot: I find the story of a sole character's redemption on the mean streets of London to be more focused and compelling than the multi-character narratives of the first film, KIDULTHOOD. At times, ADULTHOOD feels like nothing less than a modern-day western, with characters forming alliances and battling it out in a virtually lawless society.

Noel Clarke goes from strength to strength, undertaking not one, not two, but three separate roles here. First and foremost he directs, giving the movie the kind of gritty realism it desperately needs. Secondly he writes, crafting an interesting tale populated by engaging characters. Finally he acts, and delivers a fine performance as a man struggling to come to terms with his identity and place in society.

The supporting cast are fine – some delivering over-the-top performances, others more restrained and heartfelt, as the script requires. Overall, ADULTHOOD has a refreshing honesty about it that stems from the lives of the people it depicts: it tells their story in an unpretentious, almost documentary style, with plenty of natural humour and a great deal of emotion.

The film hood

[MAYESY-44 · 6/10 · 20 June 2020]

This is a good British film and a good follow on from brotherhood. Noel Clarke does brilliantly well also.

Similar to Kidulthood in that it is effective in its breadth but doesn't have the substance or complexity that one might hope for

[bob the moo · 28 May 2009]

I wasn't all that taken by Kidulthood when I watched it a few years back but it was solid enough and professionally made so I thought I'd follow it with the sequel. Set six years after the original film, we join the majority of the original cast on the day that Sam comes out of prison after doing his time for the killing of Trife. Some of those involved have moved on, some are still in the same situation they were then while others have nothing but that night on their minds and are seeking revenge on Sam for what he did – either by their own hands or by any one of countless up and coming boys looking to have a name made for them.

In picking this plot in particular the film sets out its stall very much to be about these events rather than the characters – again this is the same as the first film, which didn't do a great job in creating people so much as it did in creating a reasonably good narrative flow. For many this will be enough and the film does have enough of a "world" to it that it is easy to watch it. The problem comes when you want to be convinced by it, because the story isn't really strong enough (or logical enough) to really engage. It is not that it doesn't have stuff going in in sufficient quantities (it does) it is just that they offer nothing beyond this. Don't get me wrong, I found it easy to watch and get into but it felt like little had been done on the actual characters themselves. Physically it has been worked out where they are and attitude-wise they all have a broad sketch to them but this doesn't get translated well into words in the actors' mouths and as a result the film does feel superficial. The additional downside to this is that, although the film doesn't glamorise these lives, by not being more honest and complex it does feel like there is a certain amount of validation within it.

Clarke has done pretty well as writer/director/star though and he has produced a solid film where others may have only made a mess. OK it is not perfect but it is a good stab. His Sam sums up the strengths and weakness – he is supposed to be tired of violence but yet doesn't show that in his actions while any hurt in him is shown in simple ways. He holds the attention well but not below the surface. The supporting cast do pretty well but all have the same "lack of complexity" issue to deal with in their performances. Johnson, Deacon, Drew and others are all pretty good while Madrell returns for a few scenes and continues to be cute.

Overall Adulthood is a good companion piece to Kidulthood because they both carry the same strengths and weaknesses. The setting and events engage on the surface and have a good pace to them but the lack of anything decent below this is a problem that affects how much one gets into it but also how well the cast can do with their thinly developed characters. Worth seeing even if it could have been better.

A Worthy Sequel

[MUFCOK · 7/10 · 14 January 2015]

In my opinion, Kidulthood is one of the best Urban films that the UK has created and Adulthood is certainly a worthy sequel.

Things have changed since the end of Kidulthood, it's six years on and Sam (Noel Clarke) has just been released from Prison. Sam has done a lot of growing up over the previous six years and Prison has made him a man. He sets out to apologise for his actions but things don't run as smoothly as he would have hoped.. Jay (played by Adam Deacon) hasn't grown up, he is still out on the streets and now sells drugs for a living. Once he hears of Sam's release, he only has one thing on his mind; Revenge.

Noel Clarke proves yet again how talented he is as he takes on the role of Lead Actor & Director. His acting skills are impressive as he transforms the school bully Sam into a scared, vulnerable young man. He really breaks down the characters barriers and lets the viewer connect with him, you feel for him and his emotion throughout the film is very realistic. In Kidulthood he was the character everyone hated, now he has turned to the character everybody loves. That is very impressive and made possibly by Noel Clarkes acting skills and his role as Director. Adam Deacon gives another great performance here; yes he is annoying and over the top and in your face but that is his character! He is playing the boy who never grew up, who still lives a street life and if full of anger and hate. There is a scene towards the end of the movie which highlights both of their acting skills and really shows the viewer what they are capable of when given the chance. The other supporting actors are also decent; however some of the characters are irritating and are trying to play to part a little too hard. Plan B is extremely annoying in this movie, his face alone makes you want to put your foot through the TV screen!

Adulthood is a direct follow on from Kidulthood, many of the same characters and many references to the previous movie so I would say it is essential to view Kidulthood first. Adulthood feels a lot more serious and mature than Kidulthood, it is much more emotional and has a much darker feel to it. The Grime soundtrack is also a massive hit with some classic tunes included.

8/10

Clarke returns with a lead role both on and behind the camera, as the lives of disparate young adults going through terrifying stages of anger, hatred and regret are studied.

[johnnyboyz · 7/10 · 7 August 2010]

Adulthood is Noel Clarke's companion piece to a 2006 film about the same characters operating under the canopy of secondary school, in what was a film named Kidulthood. Here, the characters have grown up; some only in a sense of physicality as their putrid, misogynistic and crime-ridden mental side remains, the veering down of separate routes a result of this when separate lines of employment; university studies and criminal activity occupy most of their lives. At its core is the premise to a situation people of both this ilk and age group need to observe, that being that a young man has to come to terms with what he was like prior to a tragic event and realising prior attitudes towards his own masculinity and outlook on power were incorrect as he enters a new existence. The film veers away from its precursor in the sense it adheres more to a set strand or story arc, shifting away from generalisations or archetypal youngsters supposedly typical of contemporary British youth, and more into plot; story or a character with an stance on a situation with which he takes issue, instigates an action and thus causes narrative.

If Clarke comes up with any more films in the overall series as the characters grow further still and maintain the disturbing misadventures they have, the franchise as a whole will surely come to resemble Michael Apted's Up series by way of the genre makeup of something like The Godfather. In Adulthood, a supporting act from the first film in Clarke's own character Sam is taken and placed at the forefront; a stretch in prison for an event which would spoil the first film having changed him and caused his outlook to shift. The film unfolds in a world in which assaults and crimes occur on somewhat busy public streets, but locales in which nobody ever seems entirely bothered by these events unfolding, creating an effectively distorted, dystopian feel to proceedings in the London this unfolds in. It retains that multi stranded approach Kidulthood adopted, rather than putting across that sense of these people just existing within this messed up; hostile; concrete world of crime and sleaze, Adulthood covers the tales of a man having to fit back into society and rebuild decrepit relations and avoid others wanting revenge on this same man for whom he killed during the climax of Kidulthood.

A sense of neo realism is lost, substituted for causality and reactions born out of actions; but the detraction is minimal and there's enough here to recommend the film as a decent piece of work. Adulthood refreshingly fleshes out both parties stuck in this battle for blood, revenge and peace, on one strand outlining the potential victim as this sore and regretful figure; one on the other, outlining how easy it is to become reconnected to old habits and former acquaintances of whom you want nothing to do with, as respectful university student Moony (Oyeniran) clashes face to face with his buddy Jay (Deacon) about the notion of revenge and the criminality that drags with it in tow. On a third interconnected strand, a young skinhead named Dabs (Drew) shows disturbing promise as a criminal also charged with finding and killing Sam for a fee; something which goes against what his own teenage thug cohorts think on the matter.

It is Clarke's character Sam whom returns and takes the reigns of the protagonist, a man now with experiences of prison after having previously thought himself to already be of that ilk. Bullying those weaker than yourself; maintaining a sordid relationship with a member of the opposite sex and existing to cause grief and terror were the run of the mill in a previous incarnation, something that got him to jail and meetings with those he no doubt saw himself as becoming had he not changed his ways. His chief confidant is a former girlfriend whom was never anything more than a sexual stress release in Lexi (Johnson), with whom he's able to share a common bond as they exist on a similar plateau of both being victims of their own ill-conceived or naive attitudes towards the sorts of company they kept, and their attitudes towards these people. The link is made apparent as they only threaten to become intimate, and they share a moment in which memories of past negative experiences become too strong.

For Lexi, the past link to sex addict Becky from the first film saw her become the victim of a rape, although the charges against the perpetrators were dropped because of Becky as consistent company. In Sam, the physical suffering in prison at the hands of a relative of the boy he killed at the end of Kidulthood, as he's cut and abused with a metal stake, is observed. Rather than draw on daft parallels as to which event is any less demeaning or traumatic for the victim, or indeed even link the events in a case of physical similarity, the study is more preoccupied with these happenings as a catalyst for maturity in the individual, a forcing them into thinking what their identity or personality is and the sorts of company they feel they should keep. The film isn't as good as its 2006 counterpart, but offers a taut and similarly uncompromising documentation of a handful of characters. An eye is kept on the main goal of demonisation, in that one sequence sees Clarke provide us with an early split screen documentation outlining two different scenarios for separate youths. One is Sam's writing around on the street having suffered a beating at the hands of a partner of a girl he knew years ago, an event the ultimate result of what he did in the past, in stark contrast to that of Moony taking notes in a law lecture at university. The idea and message is clear, one that the film explores interestingly and engagingly enough so as to not feel like a lecture.

A great follow up.

[shadowman123 · 8/10 · 24 August 2008]

The first Kidulthood was a hard hitting reality based story based on the non-glamorised side that Hollywood would rather forget, it was however a very well made movie which even touched several points which I could relate to growing up in London. However the sequel was not that easy to watch either. Picking up on the events of what happened six years after the events of the first movie we find that the so called hunter has now become the hunted. Our murdering little hooligan has just come out of prison after doing his time and has realised that he is now a wanted man. This time it was still not easy to watch as we see people still stuck in the same vicious web and make no attempt to escape from it what so ever and that bleakish undertone always stays with the movie through out. Noel Clarke shows us an excellent way the consequence what certain actions may lead to on your-self and others around you. At the end of the day it kind of reinforces ones belief as to what is happening to society over here in general and who do we blame ? or how do we fix it? Like its predecessors it has funny moments but might feel a little unrealistic in places but in general it makes its point loud and clear. Check it out.

ADULTHOOD - 8.4 OUT OF 10

AFTER KIDULTHOOD COMES...

Powerful Inner-City Drama

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 21 September 2009]

Adulthood is the first English-language film I've ever had to watch with subtitles because I couldn't understand what the characters were saying. Almost without exception the young actors speak a strangulated version of the language through a Caribbean-affected drawl that makes every other word unintelligible. Americans – who I've seen in other film's reviews commenting on the difficulty of following, say, a cockney accent (which British people can easily understand) – won't have a hope of figuring out what they are talking about.

Happily, that's pretty much the only complaint (although it's an observation rather than a complaint) as Noel Clarke has delivered a powerful sequel to his highly acclaimed Kidulthood. I hadn't seen that film when I saw this, but it isn't really necessary in order to understand what is going on. Clarke plays a young man on his first day out of prison who finds himself the target of the friend of the youth he killed six years before. His character, eyes opened by a spell in prison that has shown him how deluded he was before he went inside when he considered himself to be a big man, is played low-key, in contrast to those of all the other youths, including the small-time dealer, a friend of Clarke's victim, who puts a contract out on him.

Clarke gets under the skin of these characters without forcing them to step outside of their tough shells to blurt out insightful speeches. The dealer's insecurity is evident in the exaggerated swagger, the habitual aggression that constantly threatens to boil over into violence or rage. Like an old man he is resistant to change and fearful of losing more friends – even if it's to an education and a woman who isn't fazed by his in-your-face attitude. Adam Deacon nails the part perfectly and easily gives the best performance in a film which is marked by the quality of the acting.

Everyone else is looking for a way out of the gloomy inner-city jungle while ensuring, by the nature of their activities, that they will never leave. Clarke's wrapping up of the story offers no solutions or fake happy endings: 'This isn't over,' the defeated Jay cries, and his words refer as much to the character's entrapment in their dispiriting urban prison as it does to his feud with Clarke

Written in a week: it shows.

[harrycole-3 · 3/10 · 30 November 2008]

Just a cynical ploy to get young people to buy the soundtrack and DVDs by making the cast speak in ridiculous accents and non-sense slang.

You can usually tell when a script was written in a hurry: the events of the film take place over a short period of time, the characters are 1 dimensional and the plot is predictable.

The Danny dyer cameo was the only moment of acting which didn't make me cringe. Adam Deacon, who put in a great performance on Dead Set seemed to confuse shouting whilst using "ghetto" slang with acting.

Having spent most of my life living in west London, I can say that this film resides in the land of fiction. Noel Clark is trying to paint a picture of 'war on the streets' which just isn't true.

Overall, a waste of £13 and 1.5 hours.

Brilliant follow up to KiDULTHOOD

[l_cobern1989 · 9/10 · 3 July 2008]

Having loved the first one, I wasn't sure if this one would meet the mark of Kidulthood but I have to say it did. I wouldn't say it is better than the first but it is still really good. It was good to see they had a lot of new faces in the cast who played their parts well. I thought Scarlett Johnson who played Lexxi was brilliant. She played her role really well and was very convincing. Was very weird seeing her face again since the last time I saw her was in Eastenders and I thought she was good in that.

The groups of youths were good apart from Dabs played by Plan B. I didn't think he was a very good choice for his character. I know he was a part of the soundtrack but he just wasn't very good at acting. Sams brother was very good and I was very impressed with his acting. Adam Deacon who plays Jay and Femi Oyeniran who plays Moony gave great performances as well. Especially Adam who shows his acting abilities at the end scene.

Neol Clarke does a excellent job acting, directing and writing. I can't believe he done all of that. For first time directing he does really well and yet again he does a great job at writing. The story over all was really good. Makes you see how much Sam had change and how he wants to get on with life and how he portrayed the different life's of Jay and Moony. He writes some brilliant scenes like the scenes where Sam meets his Mum, where he meets Alisha and her daughter and where he speaks to his brother. Really well written.

And like the first film it had a great soundtrack thanks to Ashley Thomas aka Bashy. He chose some great songs and artists for the soundtrack. They had some great songs like Kidulthood to Adulthood, Who R U, F Ur X and many more. I really wanted them to use the MySpace winner song by Dot Rotten because it was very good and would of gone well with the film. The cinematography was really good as well just like the first and i really like the way they did the split screens. Thought that it was really clever.

If you have seen the first, you really must see this. Although I think it has it's down falls like the first, it is still worth watching and it will leave you shocked by the end. A very Enjoyable film but you must see the first to see this one.

Adulthood

[jboothmillard · 6/10 · 29 April 2009]

Originally just the writer of the first film, Kidulthood, Doctor Who's Noel Clarke also takes the director's chair for this sequel to the hit teenage social drama film. Basically, it has been six years since he killed Trife, and released from prison, Sam Peel (Clarke) can't escape the life he now doesn't want to live anymore. Jay (Dead Set's Adam Deacon), a friend of Trife, wants to get revenge on Sam so much that he is prepared to have him killed. Sam is trying to get the message across to all after him that he no longer wants to create violence, and that he didn't mean to kill Trife. Lexi (EastEnders' Scarlett Alice Johnson) is one of the only people on his side and trying to help him, but at the same time, she is willing to double cross to get what she wants, i.e. drugs. In the end, Sam and Jay confront each other, Jay with a gun and Sam with a baseball bat, and even though Jay can't face killing him, and Sam has tried to give his peace, Jay warns him that it isn't over. Also starring Jacob Anderson as Omen, Ben Drew as Dabs, Danny Dyer as Hayden, Kidulthood's Femi Oyeniran as Moony, Shanika Warren-Markland as Kayla, Kidulthood's Red Madrell as Alisa, Nathan Constance as Ike, Lenny Henry in Pieces' Cornell John as Uncle Curtis and Don Klass as Blammy. Clarke deservedly won the BAFTA for Best Rising Star, he directs the film with great skill. It is a shame not all the same cast could come back, e.g. Jaime Winstone (Ray's daughter) and Rafe Spall (Timothy's son), but it is a great sequel none-the-less. Good!

Adulthood or Infantile?

[mardigrasfilms · 1/10 · 19 September 2009]

Yet another example of Film Council Money squandered on a so called "worthy" project. "Adulthood" seems as if it was made by someone on a work experience scheme attached to "Eastenders". In other words a totally unrealistic portrayal of life in London.

A "film" (actually more like a teatime kids TV programme with swearing) completely devoid of wit, humour, style or intelligence. Infantile, clichéd dialogue, one dimensional characterisation and dreadful acting not worthy of a school play.

I sincerely hope the Film Council don't give this director any more money until he grows up and finds something interesting to tell an audience.

A sad and depressing indictment of the British film industry at present

Out of jail, entering danger

[westen1223 · 7/10 · 5 April 2016]

After the success of Kidulthood, this film talks about Sam Peel, Six years after KIdULTHOOD, he is released from jail for killing Trife, he realizes that life is no easier on the outside than it was on the inside and he's forced to confront the people he hurt the most.

It's a surprise for the adults six years after they were into drugs, sex, money and robbery, they have matured (well, some of them .-.) and have a better life to secure. It's a bit depressing to see Sam leaving jail and being confronted harshly by the people he hurt the most, including Alisa and Jay. This film is great to watch over and over again but not as great or powerful as Kidulthood. However, the themes of this film are astonishing and the new characters, including Sam's brother, are improved and different towards the characters from Kidulthood.

This film talks about Sam's release from jail after killing trife or trevor, whatever his name is. He wants peace but he isn't getting any. It's just a sad thing to witness someone who killed a certain person that was dearest to others is being hunted by them for revenge. The only thing I learnt from this film is that revenge won't do anything good in your life. Revenge is what you want but is it something that you will be pleased about once you done your mission? Jay's hunger for revenge is extremely inevitable, but what he doesn't know is that if he kills Sam, it's not like trife will resurrect. It'll just make him more depressed and torn apart. It's just miraculous to see how the characters from its predecessor have moved on and separated for a better life but not forgotten what occurred when they were younger. Such a film, such..a..film.

Adulthood, the film that shows themes to remember.

N.W.A. U.K. Style:

[Cinema_Fan · 8/10 · 20 June 2008]

Not Straight Outta Compton, but straight out of jail and back on the mean streets of London. A story of retribution, responsibility and reflections that has Sam Peel (Noel Clarke) fighting for more than just his freedom. After a six and a half year stretch for murder, his troubles are just about to begin. This has his past conflicts catching-up with his plans to stay alive for the future. Strong language assists the strong sense for survival and bitter revenge in this gritty 24-hour time-line drama; knives, guns, drugs, sex and baseball bats rule this urban metropolis.

Written, directed, his first attempt too, and starring Noel Clarke, and the follow-up to, in writing only, his 2006 Kidulthood, and backed by UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund and The UK National Lottery. Wonderfully scripted and uncompromising in all areas, these urban gorillas and street urchins are the epitome of English youth in a modern setting of ghettos and tower blocks that show a concrete jungle of an inarticulate, destitute, indifferent underclass.

Edited too in an exciting fashion with split screens and driven alone with daring character development not seen since the 1995 French movie "La Haine". Adulthood being both a film of extreme violence and of reconciliation with ones past to make-amends with ones future, in a world of aggression, for some, there is hope, be it with education, forgiveness or just plain growing-up. Finding ones faults and learning, and having to, deal with them here is an education and a right-of-passage that not only brings a sense of neorealism to the proceedings but is frighteningly more close-to-the-bone than some would possibly care to admit. Adulthood could be seen as social comment perhaps or more than coincidence and excellent timing. Whatever the case may be, daunting and realistic it is.

This, along with Sean Meadows work "This Is England", Garth Jennings "Son of Rambow", Paul Andrew Williams "The Cottage" and Martin McDonagh's "In Bruges" for example, is a fine example of just how British film is slowly, and very assuredly, coming back to conquer once more. With imagination and self-confidence, we can look forward to these conquering heroes expanding further afield, and too, with the added bonus of Mr. Noel Clarke to also carry the flag. Not bad for a beginner.

Nothing special

[freemantle_uk · 5/10 · 13 December 2009]

In 2006 a little film called Kidulthood was released in Britain with a lot of media controversy with it bleak look at inner city life for teenagers. I personally didn't rate the film but people really love it, helped the careers of Noel Clarke and Jamie Winstone. Two years later Noel Clarke has gone back to his creation in an unpredicted sequel.

Sam (Noel Clarke) is released from prison after a 6 year sentence for murder of Trife at the end of Kidulthood. Straight away he visits Trife's grave and is attacked by a man, claiming that people want Sam dead. Sam is thrown straight into his mission to find and stop the people hunting him before they hurt him and his loved ones. He starts by appoarching people he went to school with, including Claire (Madeleine Fairley), his ex-girlfriend, one of Trife's old friends Moony (Femi Oyeniran), now a uni student, Lexi (Scarlett Alice Johnson), Becky's cousin and Alisa (Red Madrell), Trife's ex-girlfriend. One of Trife's friends, Jay (Adam Deacon) has become a drug dealing, and a low level gangster. He had a particular grudge against Sam. So does Trife's uncle who is a leading gangster in West London and the Jamaican community. Sam has to fight off a number of attempted hits in the space of a day on his first day out of prison.

Adulthood can easily be put in the sections of unexpected sequel and unnecessary sequel. Adulthood is a better film then Kidulthood, but it doesn't mean it's a good film. Plus Kidulthood did at least have a good first 10 minutes. My problems with Kidulthood were that it had a very negative portrayal of British youth, and is very unrealistic. Adulthood has a similar problem, that it's very unrealistic that all that happens in the film happens in one day and there are moments that are so stereotypical with it's portrayal of a Middle class man and his girlfriend, and of students that it's unbelievable. I thought the middle class bloke was too stupid and a bit insulting. There are other moments that were also unrealistic, like when Claire attempted to shout, with people looking at her and Sam and did nothing.

Adulthood does improve in other areas. The acting is better, even with cast members from the previous film. Sam also is a more realistic character, and even likable character, despite what he did. I thought he was the most pathetic 'hard man' in the previous film. Noel Clarke is a pretty good actor. Noel Clarke also moves into the director's chair, and he is an improvement to Menhaj Huda. Noel Clarke has a better visual style, with some good shots and editing tricks. He get better performers out of his actors, and avoids the mistakes Huda made with the pacing of the film. I however did not like some of the slow motion and still tricks that he used, and he did use a bit too much shaky cam for my liking. Clarke has potential as a director, but his weakness is his writing. He needs to make his characters, even minor characters, and his premise more realistic.

** out of *****

are you dizzy blood?.....

[FlashCallahan · 8/10 · 9 April 2011]

Six years after Sam Peel is released from jail for killing Trife, he realises that life is no easier on the outside than it was on the inside and he's forced to confront the people he hurt the most.

Some have moved on, others are stuck with the repercussions of his actions that night, but one thing's for certain - everyone has been forced to grow up.

Through his journey Sam struggles to deal with his sorrow and guilt and something else he didn't expect - those seeking revenge.

As he's pursued by a new generation of bad boys, Sam sets about trying to get the message across to his pursuers that they should stop the violence.

Much like Trife tried to tell him all those years ago.....

A worthy follow up to kidulthood, this could also have been called Sam's redemption, as he is now a shadow of the character he was in the first film. And this is why Clarkes film works so well, because you never know if Sam will crack and begin to be the person he once was. There were times when i thought he would go back to his ways, but he only commits violence in this to protect himself, not because of wrath.

It's well scripted, and well cast. If you are from the UK, you will know that the 'gangsta' accents, a lot of the cast use are spot on, and also very annoying, just like in real life.

The ending is a bit over the top, and Danny Dyer has no real reason to be in this film, apart from acting the geezer, but these are minor quibbles in an otherwise terrific story.

Looks like Clarke could be big.

He even references doctor who when he is on the bus.

A film cannot be worse than this...

[dlekic · 1/10 · 17 December 2008]

Adulthood is yet another crime/drama film from UK which tries (and fails in my humble opinion) to capture street life. It is obviously written by a person who has no idea about London underground. Shame that person is the very person who is the main actor, director and writer - Noel Clarke. I must admit I had higher hopes for this film when I saw Noel among the list of actors. Unfortunately I must say that Noel's acting in this film is of the same "quality" as his directing and writing - POOR.

Seriously, this film has no meaning, no message, nothing. It is a film made for a sole purpose to make something out of nothing. Usually such attempts result in - NOTHING. Luckily there are people who have no brains all around the world, so I guess people behind this project target that of audience.

If you are a teenager fool of anger, and/or you can identify with aggressive gang or drug-dealers wannabes, or small-scale criminals, this film might be for you, if you are a person who wants SOMETHING of artistic value, you might want to try some other (crime) film. This is yet another film for which I really wish I could have given a zero, if I could...

Brilliant follow on film from Kidulthood...

[MovieGuy01 · 8/10 · 30 September 2009]

I just watched Adulthood this evening ,and i thought that it was a brilliant film that carried on from where kidulthood ended. It begins where Sam Peel is released from jail for killing Trife after six years. he is forced to see the people that he left behind that night and to face the consequences for what he did to them, after he murdered Trife all those years ago. A lot of things have changed since Sam has been released from jail, and a new gang of people are after him. I think that Sam was a fantastic actor in the film. as well as all the other actors that showed how hard it is to live life on the streets of London without getting involved in gun or knife crimes. The film featured a lot of strong violence. I think that the film gives out a strong message to young people in Britain theses days not to get involved with violence

Exaggerated film...

[tagstar_101 · 5/10 · 20 June 2008]

I give credit to Noel Clarke for making such a moving film, but it is very much exaggerated. I happen to know quite a few 'ghetto' guys. I also live in Wood Green which is pretty run down with crime and it is nothing like this film suggests. I do not see friends hitting each other with bricks. There's no way this film should be in the top 250. It is a worth while film, but nothing spectacular.

The only reason it gets 8.8 is because of teenagers who haven't seen actual masterpieces.

As said, it is a worth while film with some comedy that makes you laugh out loud at times. Noel Clarkes' directing is spot on but it has been exaggerated like there is no tomorrow.

6/10

Over-whelmingly depressing at points but every bit as uncompromising and relevant as the original

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 9/10 · 26 June 2008]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Six years after the first film finished, Sam (Noel Clarke) has been released from prison for the manslaughter of Trife. But although society's forgiven him, the street's haven't, a fact he becomes quickly aware of when he pays a visit to Trife's grave and is attacked by a guy with a knife, who warns him that Trife's friends are out for blood and him and his family are in danger. Concerned for the safety of his mum and his brother, he desperately goes around all his old haunts trying to find out who's looking for him. And as he does, he must fully come to terms with the devastation his fateful actions that night six years ago had, on his mother, the mother of Trife's daughter, his brother and Trife's friends, including Moony (Femi Oyeniran) who's made something of his life and is studying law and on the other end of the coin Jay (Adam Deacon) the hyper-mouthed, aggressive one from the first film who's now a drug dealer and is especially insistent that Sam must pay the ultimate price for killing his friend...

2006's Kidulthood wasn't intended, I don't think, as much of a mainstream film, just a simple commentary on deprived inner city youth that would hopefully shock a few people into action and give them food for thought. Nevertheless, it developed a bit of a cult status and this, the follow up film, has enjoyed much more widespread anticipation and publicity as a result. Certainly, when I originally went to see it on Saturday night, imagine my shock when I was told by the cashier, for the first time in ages and ages since I've been to the cinema, that it had sold out! It was certainly quite packed when I went to see it tonight, actually, I found myself surrounded by young guys about my age in baseball caps and flairy tracksuits, so it's reached it's target demographic. It's sad, though, that aside from making money, the film is very relevant, as over the last year or so we have been bombarded in the news with gun/knife crime amongst kids in inner city areas, like the film is portraying, but it is good that while the film highlights this, it finishes on a positive message.

Like with the original, Clarke, as star, writer and director, has taken no prisoners and has delivered a film that is every bit as raw, unflinching and hard hitting as the original, with a blaring, pumping heavy gangsta rap soundtrack hollering over everything that never lets up through-out the film. At times it all gets a bit much, and the film can get over-whelmingly depressing, hearing all these characters shouting, swearing and firing broken English at each other, certainly no Salvation Army workers here, but you have to find light where you can see it and Adulthood does manage some funny scenes and, as already stated, a positive ending that sends out the right message to dis-affected youth.

It never quite feels as good as the original, but what is? Appreciated on it's own, this isn't a bad film at all, inspired, relevant, rather bleak but very well made. ****

Its A Bit Saggy

[damianphelps · 5/10 · 20 February 2024]

Adulthood continues the story established in Kidulthood where Sam, having served his sentence, comes back home to restart his life.

Where Kid packs a punch Adult is left a little limp.

Gone is the in your face attitude of 'today's teenagers', replaced with some budget wanna be gangsters.

There is some character development and a little nuance but nothing really significant. The characters are mostly existing and nothing more.

Adulthood is an ok sequel that has the main acheivement of allowing the third film of the trilogy to take place and that is a much better movie.

Take it as it comes, its ok but not great :)

An Unforgettable Mystery Drama

[FilmBrit · 8/10 · 19 July 2012]

The characters progress from the previously made movie 'Kidulthood'. this time around the story focuses on Sam, the person who was sentenced for murder, only to find himself stuck in the problems he created and finding out that people are out their to get him for what he did.

Sam gets released from prison, he quickly finds someone is out to get him for this actions from the first movie which he decides to investigate, turning this more of a mystery thriller, thus making this more engaging to watch.

The other characters from the first movie return and new recruits whom take part in the action. Many of the returning characters are a bit minor however they don't really contribute to the movie as much and quickly move on, thus making the movie more focused on Sam finding who's after him.

Even thou the returning and new characters take part in minor parts, the acting is great and they do express themselves well. The goons sound and look as threating and the people expressing how much they were hurt during the past events really do express them well in the movie.

One of the more interesting things the characters do, is that they question each others behaviour, at one point one of the characters questions the use of language from the lead character after using a slang term which wasn't understood. There a lot of this during the movie which adds a lot of suspense on what's going to happen next which makes it worth the Drama.

I wouldn't called this a sequel to Kidulthood but more of a standalone mystery which helds on it's own and it does a good job of it. The characters including the lead character Sam are all likable characters, the story ties up and the story is memorable.

Yeah, blood innit.

[dominicpearson · 8/10 · 10 April 2010]

I recall watching Kidulthood and coming away from it with no real like/dislike for it. It was an enjoyable film which attempted to hold a mirror up to youth culture in London. Some criticised it for being over sensationalised and not a true reflection but I have no first hand experience so couldn't comment.

It was, therefore, not high on my list of priorities to watch Adulthood. The thought of spending more time with the characters did not fill me with any feelings of joy. However I was very happily surprised at what a well crafted, produced and presented film this is.

The story picks up 6 years after Kidulthood. Sam has been released from prison and is almost instantly attacked. A threat is made against him and his family and he has to take action to find the source and put a stop to it.

The first point to note is that there is no need for you to have seen Kidulthood. Clearly you will enjoy the film on a different level if you have seen it as what develops are a number of scenes which focus on the impact Sams attitude and actions in the first film have had on the people around him.

The story develops at a perfect pace. We get to see more depth to the characters and understand the pain that they have suffered and continue to suffer.

Sams brother, for example, is on the same track as his brother was and this is down to the "legacy" of being related. Jay has turned into a petty thief and drug dealer and seems destined to crash and burn. We see how it has affected Sams mother, his ex and all (well, nearly all) of the central characters from the first film. The ripples of this one incident are clearly being felt this long after the event, ripples that will continue indefinitely.

At the heart of the film are two outstanding performances. The first, from Noel Clark (who also wrote and directed) is slow burning, poignant and extremely powerful. His experiences and the impact of the killing develop in the form of flashbacks, very little is actually said but we learn enough to know that if ever anyone regretted their actions it is Sam. The final scenes with Jay are heart wrenching, as is the one where Lexi is trying to comfort him in her flat.

Noel Clark plays the part brilliantly. He fully deserves all of the plaudits and recognition he received. Here is a character who I really did not care for in the first film. After watching Adulthood, however, I feel for him. I don't like him - you don't forget what his character did or that he is not a good person but you do empathise with him and the situation he finds himself in. It had to be a performance that balanced the regretfulness and showed the distance he had come but with the knowledge of his previous life and that strong elements of this remained. It could have been all brooding and moody or all anger and fury but the skillful performance found a perfect middle ground.

Second is Scarlett Johnsons performance. Her role is central to the plot and she is given time to really develop the character. The scene where she is leaving the message on Sams phone is heartbreaking. Knowing that she and Sam have similar issues and experiences gives us hope that there may be a happy ending for both of them. She is a damaged person trying to come to terms with the rape. She is struggling but sees in Sam redemption, someone who understands her sufferings and someone who can (possibly) help her.

Again, the focus could have been purely on the damage caused but the performance given shows the humanistic elements of the character. The hardness which slowly breaks down when she finds someone she can be vulnerable with. Like I said before, it is heartbreaking.

The supporting cast are, also, perfect. The final scene between Sam and Jay is brilliantly shot (apart from the Matrix moment halfway through!) and brilliantly acted. Again, you can see the very real pain Jay is suffering; pain that cuts to his very core.

All this is not to say the film isn't without flaw. I found the whole set up of the dealers extremely convoluted and unlikely. I also found myself getting agitated at the slang being used. I accept that this is the language used but some of the characters slipped in and out of it too easily.

Small concerns, however, in a film that shows that you can have a simple but strong story, some superb young actors and still have a great film without the need for big bucks or Hollywood. Congratulations Mickey The Idiot, the Doctor would be proud! 8.5/10