Bashment (2011) User Reviews (4)

Patience is a virtue that is rewarded deeply for those who see this movie through

[BryanSquared · 9/10 · 23 December 2015]

This movie is a true roller coaster slam-packed full of emotions...annoyance, righteousness, disbelief, anger, hatred, vengeance, love, heartache, perseverance, remorse...and when you thought there wasn't anything left to feel, the film ends with one grand finale...laughter, joy, compassion & understanding. It reminds you that no one should ever lose faith in humanity, now matter how lost the world may seem to be at the moment.

I won't sugarcoat it for you. The film was slow and hard to watch (brutality/intense hatred/prejudices, etc.) throughout the entire first half. I was tempted to turn the movie off a couple times, but was intrigued enough to see where the storyline would go. I'm so grateful that I did.

While the setup and character development seemed to last an eternity at first, the purpose and message of this film is worth every bit of the 110-minutes you'll invest in it. Also, while pieces of the storyline (racial tension, homosexuality, hate crimes, etc.) may not be your cup of tea, it's my opinion that your journey through this film will alter your perceptions of individual situations/struggles & better prepare you for engaging in a more meaningful discussion when/if the moment presents itself. I implore those prone to making strong, snap-judgments to push through the lulls & uncomfortable scenes and continue viewing.

While it may not have had the purse strings Slumdog Millionaire did, it's the only film I can conceive comparing the potency of Bashment's message to.

Worst LGBT feature of all time?

[kaospheric · 1/10 · 12 December 2019]

The sexy cover art will draw you in, but what awaits is an exercise in perseverance: can you withstand 90 minutes of sledgehammer subtle Rikki Beadle-Blair berating you with his (albeit worthy) message: we should all just get along.

No one seems to have told Beadle-Blair that film is about showing, not telling. And boy, does he tell us. Over, and over, and over again, the unfortunate cast reciting endless, repetitious scenes on the subject of being black and gay, and being black, and not gay. And being white and gay and not black. All with lashing of cod urban slang that would make Ali G blush.

Cinema ought to be fun, or at least artfully thought-provoking, but writer and director Rikki Beadle-Blair has taken the BLUDGEON THE AUDIENCE WITH YOUR MESSAGE route. That'll work!

At least Beadle-Blair manages to stay behind the camera for this one (after disgracing his earlier effort KickOff with his excruciating shtick) but his influence here is all too obvious. The dialogue is embarrassing and the denouement laughable. Another talented young cast wasted on a mediocre script, with a crash course in amateur cinematography.

It takes real talent to screw up a film about a gay rapper, with a cute young cast. Leave it to Rikki Beadle-Blair to achieve that.

Like his gay football stinker KickOff, Bashment was a massive flop on its release, and even the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival declined to show either film.

This is a true-love story not to miss

[evadingreality9 · 9/10 · 11 October 2014]

wow. I am not a rap music fan but this and 8Mile are a great glimpse at a part of the culture. The outcome of the violence in this film is heartbreaking but your faith is built back up as the characters each reach an enlightenment.

MC JJ is a white, gay rap performer whose lover is brutally beaten by a rival group of four, three black and one white man, during a competition. Orlando (Ollie), the victim survives but is left with brain injuries that leave him in a child-like state except for a few heart-wrenching moments where the true Ollie emerges and JJ rushes to see his lover for a few brief seconds.

This film, I believe is a love story first, as JJ's love for Ollie evokes compassion in the darkest hearts changing hate into love. Racism and prejudice evoking hate are overcome by understanding and love (with the help of Bob Marley lyrics) to make this film a beauty.

The truly inspirational point to this film is how in the end, even Orlando's attackers rally around him to offer love and support.

The writer/director Rikki Beadle Blair is also the mind behind another entertaining film KickOff (2010), starring many of the same actors from Bashment.

Music, Instrument of Hate?

[larapha · 8/10 · 3 December 2016]

The starting point of Bashment proposes an intriguing question: Can music be an instrument of Hate? At a first look, yes. The rap battles of MC JJ (QQQQQ) seems to lead to the aggression of his beloved Orlando/Ollie (Joel Dommett). But, as the film evolves, we see different questions been aroused. Music is also an instrument of liberation of our instincts, however closeted they are. It's difficult to attribute to music the sources of violence, they are presented inside us, and music can even be a ways of sublimate these feelings. Of course, for some it will be interpreted literally. But does this allow to censorship of this glorious way of liberate our most hidden instincts. From this point of view, the film has a lot to say. The first part leads us to think music should be censured, in profit of the whole and as a meaning for being politically correct. But as the film evolves, we see a more complex the question. Even those who should fight some kind of music tend to be lenient to its calming and directional effects, and, by the end of the film, the feeling towards music, however blatantly aggressive it may seem to be, are changed. We can understand the calming and congregational function of music. Alas, I'm a supporter of some directional music, at least in what concern lyrics. Apology to crime must be investigated.