Review of Adulthood (2008) by Sean H — 08 Aug 2008

THE kids *aren't* all right in Noel Clarke's powerful follow-up to his controversial 2006 hit Kidulthood.

Opening six years after the first film, Adulthood is based around troubled Sam Peel (Clarke) in the first 24 hours following his release from jail after serving his sentence for killing Trife.

It's a day fraught with even more obstacles to negotiate than expected for Sam, who, as well as coping with his fractured, traumatised family and friends, soon becomes aware that somebody is out for lethal revenge...

At a time when films are usually created by committee, this is very much Clarke's movie. Best known for his sidekick role as Mickey Smith in Doctor Who, Clarke starred in, and wrote the screenplay for, Kidulthood and here he's directing as well. Actor, writer and director - few people are juggling those three jobs these days, in Britain or anywhere else.

For at least two thirds of its length, Adulthood is concerned with some very disagreeable young people behaving extremely disagreeably and at first I thought I was watching a superficial exploitation movie.

To my surprise, I became increasingly involved in the story, leading up to a climactic scene in which nearest-thing-to-a-hero Sam and definite villain Jay (Adam Deacon) confront each other in violent self-loathing, two sides of the same coin. This is where Clarke's message - that the nihilistic council estate cycle of sex, drugs and violence can be broken by those who find the strength to walk away - finally kicks in.

Clarke has to show us the darkness to earn the right to this tentative chink of light in a way which won't make his young audience turn away. Viewers who give up earlier (and there will be some) will miss the point.

Clarke and Deacon's performances are strong, as is that of Scarlett Alice Johnson as Lexi, the girl with whom Sam shares the film's one scene of tenderness and delivers one of its best speeches, a poignant meditation on lost innocence.

Fans of the Doctor may also recognise a few familiar faces: Sam's mum is played by Adjoa Andoh, better known as Martha Jones' mum, Nicholas "Voice of the Daleks" Briggs has a small role and there's even a brief, wordless cameo for Camille Coduri, aka Jackie Tyler. The film is definitely not suitable for the series' younger fans, however.

There are flaws. Some of the occasionally incomprehensible dialogue clunks and one of Clarke's directorial tics - suddenly juddering and speeding up the action at key dramatic moments - grows tiresome. Then again, this MTV-style effect is simply a reminder that I'm not in the target demographic.

The plot is straightforwardly simple, too, although this is forgivable for the way it builds up to the memorable final confrontation.

Overall, this is impressive, heartfelt stuff, effectively shot by director of photography Brian Tufano (who worked on Trainspotting, Quadrophenia, Shallow Grave, Billy Elliot and Shane Meadows' Once Upon A Time In The East Midlands) and scored by a selection of unsigned bands and artists from the area in which the story is set.