"Ill Manors"

A Council estate in London, where naturally live is tough...very tough. There are drug dealers around every corner, young girls sell themselves just to survive, and young men armed with guns trying to be the next main man in the area.

Aaron lives his life day by day, trying to survive on the streets. His best friend Ed has just been released following being arrested for drug offences.
Also we have Kirby, an older drug dealer who takes great joy in belittling new boy Marcel for dealing on his patch. Marcel aims to get his own on back on Kirby, with a series of events that soon spiral out of control.
There is also the couple who run the local Pub, who are desperate for a baby, and through circumstances come into contact with the abandoned baby of a young prostitute mother who is on the run from Russian gangsters.

There are several story strands all presented at the start of the film, and we follow their progress, but the genius is watching as they slowly start to link with each other, in a writing style similar to that of Robert Altman or Quentin Tarantino. It makes for compelling viewing. There are some scenes which are quite uncomfortable to watch, for example young lad Jake is keen to make an impression, and is given the order to beat up his best friend, just to be accepted by a local gang. The boy is clearly torn between the loyalty of his best friend, and the need for wanting to belong.

I am not a fan of rap music but have to say that the film has a top notch soundtrack, mostly writtend and performed by Plan B.
Plan B is also known as Ben Drew, and he has both writing and directing duties on this film. In both cases it is his debut and what a phenomenal job he has done. Assembling a great cast to bring his awesome story to life. The photography is first class, as already mentioned he has a great soundtrack, and a film that will stay in the memory for some time to come.
All the cast are great in their roles, but one stand out has to be Riz Ahmed as 'Aaron', probably the one character in the film that has a chance of a decent life. The one sympathetic character, who whenever possible tries to do the right thing.

As a debut, films do not get much better than this. Ben Drew clearly has a talent, and hope that he continues to produce more top quality films like "Ill Manors". I have seen far more experienced Directors produce utter garbage compared to this masterpiece in film making.

Not pleasant viewing, but totally compelling, and an example of great talent......9 out of 10