Another outstanding piece of contemporary British film, as a teenage schoolgirl finds herself alone and left responsible for her younger brother. Soul destroying in so many ways, performances as good as any you'll find, a depiction of a world we'd like to ignore but, unfortunately, reinforcing a theme whose variations are common and increasingly so.
42 Reviews
Impressive
valleyjohn12 March 2021
Rocks is the story of a young teenage girl in London who finds herself struggling to take care of herself and her younger brother after being abandoned by their single mother with no choice but to live out on the streets or with friends .
I love working class British films that depict struggle and hardship . It's the reason why Ken Loach is one of my favourite directors. This is a multi BAFTA nominated film that's actually been around since 2019 but because we are going through a period where Woman and Diversity are being picked by all awards associations it's taken it's time to be recognised.
I have to admit that at first , the characters really annoyed me . The way they acted and spoke was so far away from what I'm used to , I found them all irritating but then something happened . The longer the film went on and more became invested in the struggles of Rocks and her brother , the more I warmed to them .
The acting is really good . Especially from Bukky Bakray . Her brother played by D'angelou Osei Kissiedu is very good as well , I couldn't help be be really impressed with them . While I enjoyed the film , I'm not sure , under any other circumstances ( Covid and the new diversity policy) it would be good enough to be up for so many BAFTAs but good luck to them anyway.
Rocks is available on Netflix.
I love working class British films that depict struggle and hardship . It's the reason why Ken Loach is one of my favourite directors. This is a multi BAFTA nominated film that's actually been around since 2019 but because we are going through a period where Woman and Diversity are being picked by all awards associations it's taken it's time to be recognised.
I have to admit that at first , the characters really annoyed me . The way they acted and spoke was so far away from what I'm used to , I found them all irritating but then something happened . The longer the film went on and more became invested in the struggles of Rocks and her brother , the more I warmed to them .
The acting is really good . Especially from Bukky Bakray . Her brother played by D'angelou Osei Kissiedu is very good as well , I couldn't help be be really impressed with them . While I enjoyed the film , I'm not sure , under any other circumstances ( Covid and the new diversity policy) it would be good enough to be up for so many BAFTAs but good luck to them anyway.
Rocks is available on Netflix.
Heartbreaking
charliemaddocks24 September 2020
This film is fantastic. It's reminiscent of early Andrea Arnold and I couldn't help thinking of Fishtank when watching this film. However I think this might be better.
The authenticity of the story is unmatched, with incredible performances from Rocks and her brother, accompanied with beautifully composed images and a fitting score to match.
The film will make you consider the difficulties that we experience as young people growing up in the 21st century and very subtly nods to the different experiences young people have while growing up, depending on their socio-economic background. The story is so heartbreakingly real and so human, that it hits so hard and will leave you with a tear in your eye.
The authenticity of the story is unmatched, with incredible performances from Rocks and her brother, accompanied with beautifully composed images and a fitting score to match.
The film will make you consider the difficulties that we experience as young people growing up in the 21st century and very subtly nods to the different experiences young people have while growing up, depending on their socio-economic background. The story is so heartbreakingly real and so human, that it hits so hard and will leave you with a tear in your eye.
Powerful
srjohannes3 February 2021
Rocks is a film that was really powerful. It was heartfelt, touching, and emotional. You were able to get wrapped up into the story and experience something that felt real. You were able to cringe at the lows the main character reaches, you were able to smile at small character moments, and you were able to cry when things turned somber. This film is wonderfully crafted, with its excellent writing, editing, direction, and story, it's truly remarkable. I have nothing but good things to say. I rate Rocks a 9/10.
A Girl's Story
PoppyTransfusion25 September 2020
This film is like every great film - multi-faceted, which means it has resonance that is almost universal. It's about a black girl. It's multi-racial. It's about children born of recent immigrant families. It's about coming of age. It's about being a girl. It's about mental health with limited support for families affected. It's about a brother and sister. It's about working classes. It's urban. It's London. It's Hackney. It's amazing and the story of Rocks and Emmanuel made me cry.
I chose the girl's story for personal resonance because girls on the verge of adulthood with talents, ambitions and dreams fire the film.
Rocks is British. Her grandma is Nigerian. Her mother troubled. She has a younger brother who loves dinosaurs and who has the lines that are the emotional heart of the film. "Close your eyes and think of everything that makes you happy. Keep breathing in and out." He says this when his sister and him are displaced to a grubby hotel as she tries to keep them together in their mother's absence and with Social Services looking to find them.
Before her mum leaves Rocks was able to live as a normal teenager with a group of friends I loved and envied. After her mum leaves the friendships are challenged and the challenges are coming of age, as maturity replaces innocence.
I have no more of the story to relate because it is the characterisation and superb acting that brings everything alive. Just has to be seen.
I chose the girl's story for personal resonance because girls on the verge of adulthood with talents, ambitions and dreams fire the film.
Rocks is British. Her grandma is Nigerian. Her mother troubled. She has a younger brother who loves dinosaurs and who has the lines that are the emotional heart of the film. "Close your eyes and think of everything that makes you happy. Keep breathing in and out." He says this when his sister and him are displaced to a grubby hotel as she tries to keep them together in their mother's absence and with Social Services looking to find them.
Before her mum leaves Rocks was able to live as a normal teenager with a group of friends I loved and envied. After her mum leaves the friendships are challenged and the challenges are coming of age, as maturity replaces innocence.
I have no more of the story to relate because it is the characterisation and superb acting that brings everything alive. Just has to be seen.
Portrait d'une jeune fille en difficulté
rubenm4 October 2020
At the beginning of 'Rocks', the audience sees the images in a vertical rectangular frame, as if they were filmed with a smartphone. For a second, I feared this was going to be the case during the whole film. Fortunately, it is a gimmick that's repeated only now and then for a few seconds.
In fact, it is quite a nice and appropriate feature, because the film is about teenage girls. As teenage girls do, they film each other with their smartphones. The images add to the authenticity of this film, which does a very good job by showing the girls' lives as real as can be.
Rocks, as everyone calls her, is a normal and happy girl, living in a multicultural working class part of London. But her life is turned upside down when one day her mother dissapears, leaving only a note and some money, telling Rocks she 'needs time to clear her head'. From then on, Rocks has to take care of herself and her little brother. She doesn't tell anyone about her mother's dissapearance, fearing the authorities, but her situation gets more and more difficult.
The young actresses are phenomenal. This is as close as you can get to a fly-on-the-wall account of modern teenage life. During the film, friendships develop, as well as mutual aversions. Rocks tests the loyalty of her friends to the limit. Apart from being a portrait of a young girl in difficult circumstances, it is also a tribute to female power and loyalty. Apart from Rocks's little brother and some school teachers, there are almost no male characters in the film.
At times, the film reminded me of 'Entre les murs', the French movie about a difficult school class. At other times, it reminded me of 'Nobody knows', the Japanese movie of children left behind by their mother. Anyone who enjoyed these films, wil enjoy this one too.
or "The Kids Aren't Alright " BAFTA favourite
tm-sheehan10 March 2021
My Review- Rocks
The most nominated movie at the BAFTAS this year with 7 nominations in all.
My Rating 7.5 :10
I won't mention the major films that have been snubbed at the new look Politically correct BAFTAS this year except to say that this Independent "Indie" film "Rocks" budget wouldn't even have paid for the catering van on a Blockbuster or mainstream Studio movie
The director, of "Rocks"Sarah Gavron's last film, 2015's Suffragette, featured a star-studded cast and reasonably-sized budget. "Rocks" . Sarah Gavron spent a couple of years securing funding, Gavron and her producer Faye Ward eventually secured £3 million -
This is a heartfelt contemporary story it could have been alternately titled "The Kids Aren't Alright."
Shola (Bukky Bakray), or Rocks, as she's known, lives in a London council flat with her younger brother Emmanuel (D'angelou Osei Kissiedu) and their single mother.
Bukky Bakray is nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA and she is wonderful in her role as Emmanuel's protector after her mentally stressed Mum leaves a note to say she has to leave them to "fix her head"
Rocks comes home to find her life radically altered: she is suddenly on her own with a child to take care of. Rocks is mercurial, impulsive, and deeply sensitive - not unusual for her age, she sometimes makes desperately poor decisions, for what look to her like good reasons.
This leads to misunderstandings with her best friend Sumatra played beautifully by Kosar Ali (nominated for Best Supporting Actress BAFTA ) and basically taking to the streets with brother Emmanuel .
I'm amazed that D'angelou Osie Kidsedou didn't get a nomination for Best Supporting Actor he really gives a splendid performance.
The film premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival in the Platform Prize program and hasn't really been noticed by any of the major Awards up till this years BAFTAS and I predict in the BAFTAS new Culturally diverse culture that "Rocks" will Rock at this year's Ceremony.
Must see
user-760-43027824 September 2020
Rocky road.
Pjtaylor-96-13804414 March 2021
'Rocks (2019)' is a social-realist film that follows a teenage girl who has to take care of her younger brother when their mother suddenly leaves. It's a sort of kitchen-sink drama that feels so grounded - partly due to its subdued, no-frills performances and decidedly 'unscripted' feel - that it could almost pass as a bonafide documentary. It shines a light on an underrepresented segment of an often represented city, stripping London of the glamour (and even exaggerated grime) that it's often given in bigger productions. It's an important perspective to see. The film itself is rather slow going to begin with, though it's never boring or anything less than well-achieved. After a while, the piece settles into a faster pace and starts to hit you with some proper emotional punches. It's here that it really starts to shine, building towards an affecting yet appropriately subdued finale. It's well-made stuff, with really great first-time performances and an effective balance between sorrow and joy. It isn't all that exciting, per se, but it's engaging and important. It's a bit slow at times, yet it works well as a whole. 6/10
Beautiful
matthewssilverhammer23 September 2021
"Rocks" displays a Sean-Baker-esque empathy for its characters that is powerful, enveloping, & devastating. The uneasily believable tale of a teenage girl having to care for her young brother when their mother suddenly disappears is carried with heart-wrenching honesty by the two young actors, as well as a particularly comforting turn by Kosar Ali as the best friend. With unending heart & dashes of authentic humor, it reminds us of the importance of "family" when blood lets you down.
Irritating
MysteryGuest7711 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I understand that I am not the target audience for this film but I do wonder who is. It reminded me of Ken Loach's style of naturalistic film-making. It's well made and well acted. It certainly represents people on screen who we don't see very much of and in that respect I think it's important. But I wish there had been a more satisfying conclusion. We spend so much time following the plight of Rocks and Emmanuel but in the end they're separated and that's kind of it. It just sort of ends but it feels like the story hasn't ended. It's deeply frustrating. You don't really know the character's futures. Does Rocks ever reconnect with her brother? Do the social workers ever find a foster home that will take them both? Or does Rocks just let him go? And what happened to the mother? Does she ever come back?
I think it's important and essential in some ways to make a movie like this but to not really resolve any of the problems is just irritating.
I think it's important and essential in some ways to make a movie like this but to not really resolve any of the problems is just irritating.
(true) girl power
kevin c17 January 2021
Movie night with Iris.
Despite the terrible circumstances upbeat tale of a steady and immutable young woman. This is the most authentic film about British teens in years.
The events of Rocks are tragic, but the film (like its heroine) refuses to get dragged down by despair. Rocks is a heartfelt testament to the resilience of our young sisterhood.
Despite the terrible circumstances upbeat tale of a steady and immutable young woman. This is the most authentic film about British teens in years.
The events of Rocks are tragic, but the film (like its heroine) refuses to get dragged down by despair. Rocks is a heartfelt testament to the resilience of our young sisterhood.
Fresh and vibrant
brockfal13 March 2021
This type of youth oriented movie isn't normally up my street but I'd heard about it so gave it a try. From the start it's a movie which has freshness and energy, telling it's modern urban tale with honesty, intelligence, and real verve in film making. It's cutting edge stuff, London, as it is, now, and the lead , Bukky Bakray, is a real find.
As Dull as Dishwater
pauly_c12 April 2021
I watched this on the strength of Bukky Bakray getting the BAFTA 'Best Actress'. I have seen snails act better than this.
To be honest, it was so boring, I gave up after forty minutes.
You're better off watching paint dry.
To be honest, it was so boring, I gave up after forty minutes.
You're better off watching paint dry.
Another gritty movie set on a British council estate
bazzer-5766313 May 2021
OK, I'll say it: there are a LOT of these movies about downtrodden Brits in crummy estates.
Probably, to be fair, because there are a lot of downtrodden Brits in crummy estates. Not enough of them, however, to outweigh the not-so-downtrodden working-class bigots who vote for old Etonians because they don't like being told what to do by the out-of-touch elites.
That said, I really liked this movie. The understated ending is a sublime example of how no conclusion can be a perfect conclusion.
And at least this one isn't set in Tilbury.
Probably, to be fair, because there are a lot of downtrodden Brits in crummy estates. Not enough of them, however, to outweigh the not-so-downtrodden working-class bigots who vote for old Etonians because they don't like being told what to do by the out-of-touch elites.
That said, I really liked this movie. The understated ending is a sublime example of how no conclusion can be a perfect conclusion.
And at least this one isn't set in Tilbury.
ROCKS. Heart-breaking & Energetic
amandeepsinghmehmi14 October 2020
ROCKS.
This film directed by Sarah Gavron realistically captures a completely different London to which you usually see. A youthful London, not seen through the lens of gang violence, or an other-worldly bright posh feel, but one simply about sisterhood.
Girlhood is a good film to compare it to, or Divines, but this feels wholly new. The gritty feel to London is captured viscerally and it's nice seeing different characters which are not usually represented on screen.
The director feels removed in the best way, but the vision always felt tightly held. The performances feel like real people with their improv-type dialogue.
You can sense the collaboration and the naturalism bleeds through easily, due to the workshops the actors had partaken in beforehand, making for the hang out moment's and atmosphere feel effortlessly lived in.
The performances were great due to an impressive ensemble and there was an authenticity not just from the main youthful cast, but all the outsiders 'Rocks' encounters in her story.
Bukky Bakray's central performance as 'Rocks' is simply extremely powerful. She does a great job of showing her emotional frailties' as well as transitioning into a sense of maturity by placing it onto her little brother played by D'angelou Osei Kissiedu, who does a terrific job, portraying innocence and flair as well as being comic relief straight from the beginning.
Rocks' hardened experience and the unfair burden placed on her leads to a harrowing innocence to experience by her mother disappearing, which is not explicitly justified in the beginning as to why, perhaps to show it from Rock's oblivious, innocent perspective.
Also, an underrated aspect is this film handles the contemporary age of phones and social media everywhere well and incorporate it into the visual storytelling.
Many directors feel they have to make period pieces as they have stated they don't know how to get past the smartphone barrier, and Rocks has arguably overcome this successfully.
However, this can cause abrupt edits and loses the fluidity and pacing of some scenes.
It can also lead to a contrast when deciding if it is a exciting scene as opposed to the more somber, contemplative, realistic feel the film is aiming to capture and balance, but I applaud the effort.
The tone is also all over the place, conceivably representing her life and predicament, however there may be too much tether given.
The cinematography by Hélène Louvart, who also shot Never Rarely Sometimes Always recently, places us into Rocks perspective with ease and is extremely detailed whilst creating an intimate drama in which Rocks is almost in every frame.
The film is written by Nigerian-British playwright/screenwriter Theresa Ikoko along with film and TV writer Claire Wilson in which they combine tragedy and humour with a thread of looseness which is inevitably down to the collaboration and preparation of this film.
The ending for some feels incomplete for some, but without spoiling anything, there was definitely a realisation and conclusion to this intense story - a minor key ending.
Overall Gavron, and her predominantly female crew, have made a film with its heart in the right place and it will surely be one of the best films this year. Vital cinema.
This film directed by Sarah Gavron realistically captures a completely different London to which you usually see. A youthful London, not seen through the lens of gang violence, or an other-worldly bright posh feel, but one simply about sisterhood.
Girlhood is a good film to compare it to, or Divines, but this feels wholly new. The gritty feel to London is captured viscerally and it's nice seeing different characters which are not usually represented on screen.
The director feels removed in the best way, but the vision always felt tightly held. The performances feel like real people with their improv-type dialogue.
You can sense the collaboration and the naturalism bleeds through easily, due to the workshops the actors had partaken in beforehand, making for the hang out moment's and atmosphere feel effortlessly lived in.
The performances were great due to an impressive ensemble and there was an authenticity not just from the main youthful cast, but all the outsiders 'Rocks' encounters in her story.
Bukky Bakray's central performance as 'Rocks' is simply extremely powerful. She does a great job of showing her emotional frailties' as well as transitioning into a sense of maturity by placing it onto her little brother played by D'angelou Osei Kissiedu, who does a terrific job, portraying innocence and flair as well as being comic relief straight from the beginning.
Rocks' hardened experience and the unfair burden placed on her leads to a harrowing innocence to experience by her mother disappearing, which is not explicitly justified in the beginning as to why, perhaps to show it from Rock's oblivious, innocent perspective.
Also, an underrated aspect is this film handles the contemporary age of phones and social media everywhere well and incorporate it into the visual storytelling.
Many directors feel they have to make period pieces as they have stated they don't know how to get past the smartphone barrier, and Rocks has arguably overcome this successfully.
However, this can cause abrupt edits and loses the fluidity and pacing of some scenes.
It can also lead to a contrast when deciding if it is a exciting scene as opposed to the more somber, contemplative, realistic feel the film is aiming to capture and balance, but I applaud the effort.
The tone is also all over the place, conceivably representing her life and predicament, however there may be too much tether given.
The cinematography by Hélène Louvart, who also shot Never Rarely Sometimes Always recently, places us into Rocks perspective with ease and is extremely detailed whilst creating an intimate drama in which Rocks is almost in every frame.
The film is written by Nigerian-British playwright/screenwriter Theresa Ikoko along with film and TV writer Claire Wilson in which they combine tragedy and humour with a thread of looseness which is inevitably down to the collaboration and preparation of this film.
The ending for some feels incomplete for some, but without spoiling anything, there was definitely a realisation and conclusion to this intense story - a minor key ending.
Overall Gavron, and her predominantly female crew, have made a film with its heart in the right place and it will surely be one of the best films this year. Vital cinema.
Poignant naturalistic tale
gortx11 May 2021
Sarah Gavron's follow-up to the underrated SUFFRAGETTE is entirely different in tone. A Nigerian teen living in London comes home from school one day to find that her single mom has left her and younger brother to fend for themselves. The girl, Rocks (Bukky Bakray) has been through similar disappointments with her mother and soldiers on.
While this traumatic event would be the sole focus of most movies, Gavron and her writing team (the filmmakers also credit their cast for improvising) have molded a naturalistic portrait of Rocks and her teen-aged girlfriends. It's a motley crew, but, not a "movie" one. They feel real and never seem to be putting up an act for the camera. It's the real strength of the picture. Rocks seems to make all the wrong choices, but the viewer can't help but pull for her. Rocks' intentions are pure, even when her actions aren't.
ROCKS, like it's title character, has a fighting, but, gentle spirit. It's a tale done very poignantly and well.
While this traumatic event would be the sole focus of most movies, Gavron and her writing team (the filmmakers also credit their cast for improvising) have molded a naturalistic portrait of Rocks and her teen-aged girlfriends. It's a motley crew, but, not a "movie" one. They feel real and never seem to be putting up an act for the camera. It's the real strength of the picture. Rocks seems to make all the wrong choices, but the viewer can't help but pull for her. Rocks' intentions are pure, even when her actions aren't.
ROCKS, like it's title character, has a fighting, but, gentle spirit. It's a tale done very poignantly and well.
Great Watch!
maroonbrownin10 October 2020
Acted very well and a great story of friendship.
akstandup8 November 2020
O.k. I'll Say It
evanston_dad22 March 2021
O.k., I'll say it. I don't think "Rocks" would have been nominated for 7 BAFTAS if it wasn't about a poor black girl.
In the movie "The Forty-Year-Old-Version," Radha Blank plays a version of herself, a New York playwright who's struggling with finding an authorial voice in a world dominated by white theater. Plays about black people are trending with a white liberal progressive audience, but only if they're about how badly black people have it, how poor they are, how oppressed they are. Blank's character in the film calls it "poverty porn," and she resists it, because she wants to write plays about black people who aren't defined by the struggles imposed on them by a white world.
As a white person who, over the last few years, has been purposefully seeking out movies and books created by black artists about the black experience in an effort to better understand other points of view, I've had a steady diet of poverty porn, and I'm tired of it. Surely there is more to being black in this world than being poor and parentless. So I think I just wasn't in the right mood for "Rocks." I can acknowledge that it's objectively a very well made movie, but for me it was one poverty porn movie too many. And though the BAFTAS, to their credit, found room to nominate Blank for "The Forty-Year-Old-Version," that's the only nomination that movie received, while "Rocks" was lavished with attention. It's like unless a movie is about how miserable it is to be black, it somehow doesn't count as "important" enough to deserve an audience.
I sincerely hope this review does not make me sound like a conservative racist, or a liberal closet racist. I write it in the spirit of fully acknowledging the systemic anti-black racism that exists in our world. And, to be fair to the movie, it's set in England, not America (where I live), it's not exclusively about black people, and it's not even so much about anti-black racism as it is the economic and social struggles of people of color in general. But it still reinforces the stereotype that to be black in this world is to be miserable to a lesser or greater extent, and I think that stereotype is a disservice to black people.
"Rocks" has its heart in the right place, and it's not the movie's fault that it caught me at a bad moment. I wouldn't not see it based on this review.
Grade: B+
In the movie "The Forty-Year-Old-Version," Radha Blank plays a version of herself, a New York playwright who's struggling with finding an authorial voice in a world dominated by white theater. Plays about black people are trending with a white liberal progressive audience, but only if they're about how badly black people have it, how poor they are, how oppressed they are. Blank's character in the film calls it "poverty porn," and she resists it, because she wants to write plays about black people who aren't defined by the struggles imposed on them by a white world.
As a white person who, over the last few years, has been purposefully seeking out movies and books created by black artists about the black experience in an effort to better understand other points of view, I've had a steady diet of poverty porn, and I'm tired of it. Surely there is more to being black in this world than being poor and parentless. So I think I just wasn't in the right mood for "Rocks." I can acknowledge that it's objectively a very well made movie, but for me it was one poverty porn movie too many. And though the BAFTAS, to their credit, found room to nominate Blank for "The Forty-Year-Old-Version," that's the only nomination that movie received, while "Rocks" was lavished with attention. It's like unless a movie is about how miserable it is to be black, it somehow doesn't count as "important" enough to deserve an audience.
I sincerely hope this review does not make me sound like a conservative racist, or a liberal closet racist. I write it in the spirit of fully acknowledging the systemic anti-black racism that exists in our world. And, to be fair to the movie, it's set in England, not America (where I live), it's not exclusively about black people, and it's not even so much about anti-black racism as it is the economic and social struggles of people of color in general. But it still reinforces the stereotype that to be black in this world is to be miserable to a lesser or greater extent, and I think that stereotype is a disservice to black people.
"Rocks" has its heart in the right place, and it's not the movie's fault that it caught me at a bad moment. I wouldn't not see it based on this review.
Grade: B+
Reminiscent of Nobody knows but set in Urban London and shown through a gritty multicultural lens.
tasnimaxuddin19 October 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I may be a little biased here because this movie hits very close to home, the socioeconomic status of Rocks, the council flats and ghettoised neighbourhoods, the slang it's very much what living in East London is like. So kudos to the director for giving a real insight into what life is like for Rocks and people like her. As she tries to avoid social services, pushes away her true friends and steals from Roshe you find yourself pained by her choices and how they affect her little brother Emmanuel but you also have to remind yourself she's just a child. And yet we see her take on the responsibilities of looking after her brother and making sure they stay together no matter how hard it is.
Mama gone, teenaged daughter in trouble
madanmarwah8 June 2021
Warning: Spoilers
What happens when mama ( A black lady) suddenly moves out of her home in London leaving behind her school going teenaged daughter ( nicknamed Rocks) and an 8 year old son. ( A case of gone mama, in place of gone girl). The world goes topsy turvy for this hapless girl who struggles to cope with this sudden development. She makes a few incorrect decisions and has misunderstandings with her classmates. The film is touching and emotional.
Director Sarah Gavron has made a soft and sweet film which brings out this girl's predicament as she faces eviction from home, a stay in a hotel and a temporary stay with a friend. The film is shot in documentary style and has quite a few scenes of drama, so it could be called a docudrama of sorts. The scenes of children in school , in an outing and having fun bring out warmth, as Rocks navigates through her problems with the help of her friends. As authorities are informed by well meaning friends, government agencies move in to send the young boy to foster parents. Rocks accepts this arrangement and she and her friends go to see little brother in the playground of his new school. The film does not focus on the aspect that Rocks is black and this is assuring.
Director Sarah Gavron has made a soft and sweet film which brings out this girl's predicament as she faces eviction from home, a stay in a hotel and a temporary stay with a friend. The film is shot in documentary style and has quite a few scenes of drama, so it could be called a docudrama of sorts. The scenes of children in school , in an outing and having fun bring out warmth, as Rocks navigates through her problems with the help of her friends. As authorities are informed by well meaning friends, government agencies move in to send the young boy to foster parents. Rocks accepts this arrangement and she and her friends go to see little brother in the playground of his new school. The film does not focus on the aspect that Rocks is black and this is assuring.
Enjoyable
svader27 June 2021
Great film.
Good to see the use of non actors and the local community. Brought a sense of reality to it especially with the language and portrayal of youth in the inner city.
They could have made a whole episode soon off on the trip to Hastings it was hilarious.
Well done everyone.
Good to see the use of non actors and the local community. Brought a sense of reality to it especially with the language and portrayal of youth in the inner city.
They could have made a whole episode soon off on the trip to Hastings it was hilarious.
Well done everyone.
Pretty awful
mikate13 April 2021
Usual boring tropes used here race, social justice , hard done by stereotypes of council estate living ... nothing about the reality of black gangs , absent parents , causes of low income , drugs , lack of responsibility , sexism culture etc all issues that conflate together to make some black youth's lives miserable ... would have been more textured and balanced but instead we get the sob story and little context ... I have no idea why the girl won an award ...
Tender, Gentle, Funny, Powerful
david-meldrum14 March 2021
As tender, gentle yet still powerful a film as you're likely to come across. A cast of mostly first time actors tell the story of a girl and her young brother trying to make it work after their mother walks out, leaving them alone. The film is perfectly cast, each performer giving portrayals of such subtle truth that it's hard to look away from. The film is never worthy or sentimental, and it's also often as funny as it is moving. It reminds me in places of Girlhood, which is high praise for me; though stylistically it's somewhat different and doesn't deal with gangs at all. It's refreshing and significant that this film portrays young black women as rounded people; never sexualised, not having violence committed against by men; struggling but also forging their own paths and doing all that lies within their power to do. We need many more films like this.
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