Wilder Penrose, 06/12/2008
Before watching "Kidulthood" I was apprehensive. I had heard that it glamorised a ultra-violent, ultra-sexual(ised) portrait of today's youth, all in an absurdly short period of time (24 hours leading up to a party). In my opinion this is not a healthy type of image of young people to display, never mind glamorise. As soon as I had seen the first two bullying scenes I had dismissed the first of these trepidations. They carried a clear ethical voice of their own, the disapproval, yet fear, of some of the on-looking children. Simultaneously, the lack of (competent) adult guidance, one of the film's themes, was also marked. This, in my opinion, left no doubt that the film was not glamourising bullying or violence. The film was perpetually marked by this approach to its scenes. Although they portray cruelty, the ethical articulations of some of the children ensured that they were not cruel themselves, whilst the absence of a decent adult vision did the opposite of portraying youth as morally retrograde. Equally importantly, it never denied young people's agency, their ability to make choices, even in compromising situations. Once that was out of way, I could get on with enjoying the film's drama, of which it has much, almost everything - that is sex, prostitution, all sorts of prejudice, violence, drugs, gangsters, knifes, guns, and so on. As well as the accompanying physical and psychological trauma. And yes, this is a lot for 24 hours film time and less than 2 hours real time. But the film is not supposed to be 'real', but a 'hyper-real' condensed version what some children (feel they) experience, and I enjoyed it. Also, the film is well made and well acted, briskly paced and suitably brimming with youthful verve. I found "Kidulthood" to be, despite its flaws, a hopeful film, and am greatly looking forward to seeing the follow-up "Adulthood" in the near future.
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