Ill Manors (2012)

I thought this was a great film. It is structured in a way that although each story is separate, they intersect i ways that mean you see some of the same scenes from a different perspective, and also gain more information about what is going on. The characters are reasonably well rounded, with some of their background being told by rap songs, which fits well with the urban mood of the film. The story poses some interesting moral dilemmas, in which the solutions are rarely "good" but at least in some instances appear to be motivated by doing the right thing, even if they don't always achieve that. The setting is grim, unpleasant and in many ways, lacking any hope, but there are glimpses of humanity within it. I found this film gripping, and intend to watch it again soon.

The debut feature from Ben Drew (better known as rapper Plan B) makes some interesting inroads as a gritty gangster film bent on uncovering the many flaws of David Cameron's broken Britain. But, at an ill-advised two-hour plus runtime and an ill-managed script that very quickly degenerates into a nonsensical shamble of f-bombs, c-bombs, 'innits' and 'bruvvas', Ill Manors looks more like an unassuming eight-year-old with a painted gold chain and counterfeit snapback: he thinks he's tough, but he's the only one.The effort made to blend the six stories surrounding the film's doomed night crawlers – four drug dealers and a pair of prostitutes – is a respectable one. However, lost in the apparent coolness of overlapping one twisted life with another is the expectation that these stories will eventually lead to something – which they don't. There is still some to like about Drew's ambling adventure, though. Ahmed is believable as a conflicted soul trying to help, and each character is introduced via an original rap song sung by the director. But because the basics of filmmaking deflate these otherwise creative moments, one gets the impression the whole project would've worked better as a storytelling album (a la Pink Floyd's The Wall or Kanye's College Dropout), not a feature film.*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on [email protected] and let me know what you thought of my review. If you're looking for a writer for your movie website or other publication, I'd also love to hear from you.*

This movie is ingeniously constructed. Every detail is necessary for the development of the story. The writing, acting and editing is as stunning as the content. An absolute must. 10/10I hope to see more of the makers. I was not at all prepared to be taken off guard, to be sucked in the story. I started to watch as if it was a documentary, being 'interested' and then suddenly the writer pulls you in as you start to being interested in one of the characters... From that moment I started guessing what's up next, but I guessed wrongly... I want to,tell that this is a brilliant movie, but I can't post it if I haven.t got 10 lines or more. My wife, a ethics teacher, will promote the film to her students, although some people might frown at this.

Blah Blah Blah..the following 3 words might as well be the only thing some reviewers of this movie should have written as their reviews are about as useful to movie lovers as a bullet proof vest is to superman.The movie is a solid drama/thriller,which is very very realistic,the seedy underworld of London is portrayed on the mark.the main focus however is a strange one,rather than an actual plot as such "ill manors" is a story about different kins of people all connected to the underworld(not a bad thing at all) in a different way and each persons story is connected via crossed paths,its very clever very well acted,the soundtrack is amazing,the attention to detail that drew has is immense.I would also like to comment that other reviewers trying to sound cultured and intelligent on IMDb have said drew is trying to gain street cred in with this movie obviously have no idea who Ben drew is and the fact that he has been the UK's most intelligent,profound and lyrically punishing rapper for the last ten years and he has enough cred to last 2 lifetimes,do your homework!!!.. this movie is a must see and also must buy album.great stuff!!!.