Ill Manors

I can only assume that people didn't like this film because it was too dark, or it simply wasn't their type of film.

If you like films like Kidulthood & Adulthood I can promise you will LOVE this.

I personally thought it was better than the above said films.

Not only was it very well produced and directed, the acting was top notch! I've never seen (or noticed) Ed Skrein in a film before, and he played his part perfectly - Totally believable, and basically a right nasty piece of work.

All the other parts were played excellently too(with maybe the exception of Kirby's character)

It had a great story that keeps you engrossed from beginning to end, it is shocking, harrowing,and some good humor was thrown in too.

After it finished, I text a handful of friends (who I knew would like it) and told them to watch it asap.

Nuff said, 10/10

This film quite literally blew me away and had I listened to some of the posts off here, I possibly could of missed out!

Personally, judging by the posters who have come on here to discuss this film, I think the film has inadvertently aimed itself or been swept into the wrong market. It seems it is being judged by the people who are unfortunately incapable of grasping the brilliance of it all.

Despite being set in a similar environment, this film is not another 'Kidulthood' and tackles much more deeper questions about morality. 'Kidulthood' was aimed solely at the people it portrayed such as the teens and young adults who live in these areas. For me, 'Ill Manors' is for a more mature market and is a harrowing message that should be seen by the masses and the more privileged of us out there who need a window to peer through in order to grasp the horrors that take place right on our doorstep. It is also for the real movie lovers out there who want to be taken on a roller coaster ride and really feel the angst and despair that these true to life characters have to go through just to survive. Without question, this film will take you in from the first minute and drag you into the hurricane that is the working class of London where you have no idea how or where you will end up.

From a spectacle point of view, this film is breathtaking one minute and the so raw the next that you will feel the need to look away.

I can quite readily say that I did not expect nothing close to what I saw and I am extremely glad that I took the time to check this brilliant film out.

9/10 for me.

The film is an incredibly accurate portrait of that kind of environment. It wasn't two-dimensional in that the characters weren't just purely evil – the good in them also showed. I've met all those characters in the course of my work. The little boys terrorised into joining the criminal network are just so real. It demonstrated what I keep telling people: don't say a child chooses to join a gang; there is no choice. The cycle of brutalisation, with kids brutalising kids, the girl fights, all of it is so accurate.

I want to get a copy of this film and deliver it to the prime minister and say: "This is another bit of your country that you don't talk about, you don't see, but nevertheless, large numbers of children and young people are trapped in this life." I've already spoken to an MP. I want to organise a showing in parliament. I'm going to call Plan B's people and see if they'll make it happen. For the past 16 years I've been trying to describe what these kids' lives are like. It's very difficult for people to visualise the way they live.

Saw this the other week at the cinema. Watch a film. Although this type of film has been done before with the likes of 'Kidulthood' and so on, but the material has never been fresher. I'm not Plan B's biggest fan music wise. I think he's very talented and my girl loves him, but I'm more into my underground grime rather than commercial. I did, however, think he did a good job in 'Adulthood' and 'Harry Brown' so I'm guessing I'm more into his acting than his music. And I'm hoping to see a lot more after this. It's the story of different characters who connect in some way or another. Each story filled with tragedy and each character dealing with issues. Plan's B's singing narration before each story is brilliant. This won't be for everyone. There's crackheads, prostitution, pedophiles, drugs and violence but there's also an incredible empathy for even the most horrible characters. There's also some good humour too. The acting's fantastic. With some faces you know and some you don't, each performance is bang on. Overall a deep, very well made film with terrific performances and a truly original style. ****/*****

Plan B is clearly not content with just being a famous rapper/singer/actor, as he has now tried his hand at directing, with his debut film ill Manors being released in cinemas today. Set in East London, the film follows a series of characters from drug dealers to prostitutes to runaway single mothers as they all struggle to survive in their poverty stricken area. As you can guess, this is not a happy-go- lucky sort of film, but nevertheless it's a very good film.

The style taken is very much similar to Pulp Fiction (believe it or not), as each character gets their own little tale, and soon enough they begin to over-lap with one another, creating a sense of community, we see that everybody really does know each other, whether for good or bad. There is also a rapping narrator (played by Plan B himself) which really adds another dimension to the film, it sets itself apart from the usual ''urban drama'' with these little techniques. It's a very brutal film that doesn't hold back either, from violent murders to a woman being pimped out for £10 at a kebab shop, we see it all within 121 mins.

Whilst it is an ''urban'' drama at the end of the day, the film does what Kidulthood/Adulthood/Shank could not do and has a go at actually trying to explore the reasons behind why people join gangs or decide to riddle their body with heroin. None of the central characters have parents, and the film suggests this lack of love creates the violence, it's essentially a film encouraging us to hug a hoodie. Outstanding performance goes to Riz Ahmed, who plays a gangster with some moral fibre trying to get out the area. The only negative is that the film tries to tell us too much, there's so many characters and stories happening that it's hard to keep track and some character get lost in the shuffle. But overall, recommended.

7/10