Upon watching this film I went in with not very high expectations after seeing some current reviews already posted on here. But I watches The Estate anyway in hopes of finding my own opinion.
Unfortunately, most of what has been mentioned is true; this film comes across as poorly written, bad camera-work, amateur acting and a disappointing storyline.
This film isn't for the faint of heart, it displays grittiness, a tough honesty about crime that is currently apparent in some areas of London. It includes some sometimes half naked ladies and the usually hard to understand language used by the young characters. Oh and don't forget swearing, the is an awful lot of swearing involved, mostly unnecessary but always present in many different forms of vulgar language.
The main reason for these issues are due to one problem; budget. Unfortunately the budget was very low for this film and it clearly shows as it comes across as an overall difficult film to watch, not only because of the grittiness of the film, but the quality of the camera-work and editing, or otherwise, lack of editing, hinder The Estate greatly.
Although this has all been said, the overall message for this film and the realism portrayed as best it can is of a great standard. Although the acting at times isn't of an amazing standard, the realism that the characters convey about the real-life situations these people are put in are accurate.
The overall message that Steven Drew is trying to put across through the film is clearly apparent, and it is a strong message of that. The side of gang crime he approaches is that of what happens behind the sometimes glamorised violence included in many crime films. It approaches the affected lives of those behind the scenes and the reach the effect of crime has.
Overall this film has a good intention to put across a good story and an important moral reality to what is currently happening in some rougher areas of London. Unfortunately this film is hindered by the lack of budget which would otherwise increase the overall quality of the film.
I would recommend watching this film for the verisimilitude and message it conveys, not for the production quality.
