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Bullet Boy
Ashley Walters impresses in the hard-hitting Hackney drama that’s still one of the best of Britain’s black urban crime films.
Director: Saul Dibb
Overview
Ashley Walters rose to fame as one of So Solid Crew but impresses here in his first lead acting role, anchoring Saul Dibb’s stark and compelling urban drama. When Ricky (Walters) is released from prison he soon finds himself drawn back into old ways, while trying protect his brother Curtis (Luke Fraser) from the advances of a local gang.
While its characters’ inescapable housing-estate existence is now familiar from an entire subgenre of films, Dibb’s sensitive yet uncompromising approach to the materials reaps dividends. The result remains one of the most impressive of the cycle of early 2000s London gang tales; one that holds up as urgently relevant and affecting today.
Contains strong language and sex and moderate violence
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