Safe, which opens season12, is one of the strongest so far, sitting firmly in the realist tradition of The Wire and Top Boy and arguably darker and more pessimistic than either, It was written by Timothy Prager, his first for the series (also Two Thousand Acres of Sky) and directed by Sue Tully.
A girl is killed at a funfair. Two brothers experience gang culture. Leo is on community service - after (slightly) drunk driving - on a South London estate. And a tough tale of gang violence (with a slight Romeo and Juliet undertone) and public silence follows. (Good rap material: 'gang violence... public silence".)
Thought we recognised the elder brother - it's Daniel Kaluuya. Younger is Kedar Williams-Stirling (Sex Ed). Aml Ameen is the dedicated community worker. Paul Higgins investigates. Jamie Sives is a paramedic that Nikki dalliances with. Charles Mnene is the chief gang bastard, Malachi Kirby (A Thousand Blows) a cohort. Acting all good.
Gang rape initiation for 13 year old girls, Brixton being in 'the heart of Somalia', death by tar and feathering, and by dog attack, all vivid details of a lawless side of London. And the ending - bringing kids in with lures of trainers - is a neat way of saying it will all go on.
No comments:
Post a Comment