Ill Manors Review

The director of Ill manors is Plan B, or formally known as Ben Drew. Plan B is an English rapper, singer-songwriter, actor and director. He is well known for his albums released in 2006 (Who Needs Actions When You Got Words) and 2010 (The Defamation of Strickland Banks). Plan B has also had success in his acting career, appearing in films like Adulthood (2008), Harry Brown (2009), 4.3.2.1 (2010) and The Sweeney (2012). Ill Manors was the directorial debut film for Plan B. Plan B has written, directed and produced the soundtrack for Ill Manors. From my perspective the directorial skills have been portrayed amazingly in the form of Ill Manors. There is only one well known star in Ill Manors and that is Riz Ahmed. Riz Ahmed is a British Actor known for films like The Road to Guantanamo, Rage, Four Lions and Centurion. Riz Ahmed is also known for his TV show, like Britz, Dead Set, Wired, and Shifty. The rest of the actors are all unknown talents that have played their roles effectively to make a small budget film look as realistic as possible. Some actors include the actor that plays ‘Chris’ Lee Allen, who was approached by Plan B as they are friends. All the characters have been picked out and portrayed outstandingly.

Ill Manors revolves around the lives of six characters and the main protagonist that live in the unforgiving streets of suburban London. Ill Manors represents a perfect painting of the ultra-realistic gritty reality of the world. The film also portrays the struggle to survive the violent obstacles that they have snared in. The first character is the former dealer of narcotics Kirby (played by Keith Coggins), who has been served his sentence in prison. The next Character is hardened thug Ed (played by Ed Skrein) who is relentlessly searching for his missing phone. The third character is Michelle (played by Anouska Mond) a crack addict looking for her next dose with a willingness to do anything for it. The fourth character is the young and innocent Jake (played by Ryan De La Cruz), who is attracted into the local gang. The fifth character is Chris (played by Lee Allen), who is on a bloodlust to seek revenge. The sixth character is Katya (played by Nathalie Press), who is trying to find the light out of the end of the dark and danger tunnel. The main protagonist is Aaron (played by Riz Ahmed), who is just trying to do the right thing. These characters have been given depth and been portrayed effectively by all the actors.

Ill Manors is a British crime drama. The genre was parallel to the film itself and it also fulfils the expectations of the genre, this is evident from the recurring use of police and the theme of drugs and prostitution being used consistently throughout the movie. Also the film is hard hitting and suspense filled. The mood of the film is intense and actual replicates the actual atmosphere of living in a suburban estate filled with problems and dangers. The soundtrack of the film is has been split into six tracks that are effective in narrating what is going on. The soundtrack helps pull all the storylines together at the climax of the film and introduce all 6 characters as well as the main protagonists. The six separate characters have been paired with a track each. The first track is called “I am the Narrator”, which is heard first and also symbolises the storyline consisting of the main protagonist Riz Ahmed. The atmosphere created by the soundtrack is a dark and real feel to the film as it reflects the actual problems of Urban London today.

The target audience is of the E category demographic as it consists of unemployed and students, but also the other category demographics. This is because the E category demographics related to the identification of the characters and them, as they are either in a similar position or similar age. Furthermore the psychographics that this film is aiming for is reformers as they seek enlightenment, freedom form restrictions and personnel growth.