Gone Too Far

A hilarious film which covers a lot of ground. I wish all my African friends in Africa who desperately want to come and live in the UK could see it, they would get a taste of real life in London. An educational film revealing how cultures are created, established and warped. Lots of action, romance and slapstick. It deserves to be shown in film festivals, such as the Zanzibar film festival and others throughout Africa and the rest of the world. The storyline is set in Peckham, London. The issues are complex and relevant. The period of time covers one day. The storyline is believable and coherent. The viewer gets to learn about cultural, racial and historical differences.

I watched to the end, so it is not bad enough to be unbearable but it is certainly nothing special. The film never seems to decide who its audience is: London streetwise gang members or fresh off the boat migrants. The approach is largely childlike and, apart from some strong language and misplaced violence and drug use, could have been a family treat. The fight scenes are incongruous and throwaway, and any attempt at addressing romantic relationships is primary school playground level.

Attempts to contrast Yemi's Peckham life with Ikudayisi's Nigerian background are flimsy, and it is hard to imagine two brothers /half-brothers reaching the age they do while knowing so little about each other. In fact, it is the newcomer Iku who seems to know their mother better. It is impossible to conceive that Yemi speaks no Yoruba, considering how often his mother lapses into it. The understanding most characters have of African / Caribbean / British aspects of their heritage is frankly offensive. People seem to drift through the single day with no sense of purpose, shifting from an Indian shop to a Chinese restaurant, in and out of a pirate radio station, play areas, residential streets, the library (why did two characters find themselves inside?). The representation of a teenage PCSO wannabe is tasteless.

The film is a time passer. I would not sit down to watch it, but it was on and it held my attention, just, for its duration. I am not proud to have watched it; the boundary between innocent 1970s humour and blunt racism is always too close for real comfort, but if you happen to catch it you are unlikely to throw down your remote control and leave the room in disgust.

I found this film disappointing. There was so much potential, but it seemed very cliched and forced. The character of Armani in particular was very unbelievable and poorly written. She seemed something like a mixed race version of the Little Britain character, Vicky Pollard! The racist comments she made towards black people as a mixed race girl in particular seemed very far-fetched.

I also found the setting very confusing. I believe it was meant to be set in Peckham, but many of the scenes were in East London outside the famous tower blocks in Bethnal Green. I guess to international viewers they wouldn't notice that, but to Londoners watching it, who know the difference between South London and East London, it makes it seem disjointed and confusing. It's a small detail, but attention to detail is important. If this is a film about Peckham why not film it in Peckham and highlight the African and British communities there? This leads me to my final comment that it is not really clear who the audience is or what the point of the film is.