Been So Long

On paper this film ticks all the boxes, on screen its fantastical execution carries no weight leaving you a little unfazed by all the jazz. Shame, British stories need to stories which transcend but not ones that are poorly tacted on with cheap 'devices'.

Simone (Michaela Coel) is a single Mum reluctant to get into a relationships has a rare night out and meets a nice guy (Arinze Kene) recently released from prison and has a up and down relationship with her.

Following the trials and tribulations of their relationship with a strong emphasis on Afro-Caribbean culture of Londoners in Camden. A modern urban musical with much local flavour, but the songs are forgettable and the thin plot more than a little dull and tedious, even if it is at least a good looking film.

With such a great cast it's a shame three couldn't get away from really cheesy lyrics and a trite plot line and random uninteresting plot devices

I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of musicals in general, but there is some great ones out there. This is not one them. The acting, storyline, songs and characters were all cringe. Couldn't find myself caring about the main characters. Also George MacKay is seriously wasted here as an actor. I can't believe he agreed to this project. I know he's done a musical before with Hunky Dory but that film had lot of charm, this one was a hot mess.

We nearly gave up on this film after some of the horrendous songs at the start, but we soldiered on. Things improved when the two main characters were allowed to act somewhat naturally, they weren't perfect, but they worked well enough to move things along... until the next awful song. The seemingly random moments that popped up from time to time did add up to a very small something in the end, but not enough to warrant their inclusion - they just stole time from the only slightly interesting part of the story. Anyway, don't give up too quickly, it does improve - just not by much. Without the songs, this may have managed 6/10... as it is, it's an awkward 4.