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Blue Story

6/10

Stars: Stephen Odubola, Micheal Ward, Karla-Simone Spence. Eric Kofi-Abrefa

Director: Rapman

Audiences outside South East London are likely to need subtitles to grasp all of this rap-narrated story of street gang warfare, where a staring match between rivals from different districts is likely to lead to a punch-up, knife fight or, occasionally, gun battle.

I must confess I could only catch a fraction of the dialogue, but the central story is nonetheless easy to follow, with aggression the watchword whether on school playground or street corner.

Timmy (Odubola) is moved from the Lewisham and Deptford areas to a 'better' school across gang lines in Peckham, leaving friends behind, save for Marco (Ward), who attends the same school but retains his old gang affiliations elsewhere.

Timmy soon beds cute and curvy classmate Leah (Spencer), but the all-enveloping atmosphere of violence allows them little happiness; the tragic ending is obvious always.

Overall the narrative is somewhat confused but performances, spitting out the director's expletive-strewn dialogue, are forthright, and by and and large convincing, with violence confined to the shadows and little actual bloodshed shown.

David Quinlan

UK 2019. UK Distributor: Paramount. Colour by deluxe.
87 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.

Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 1, Violence/Horror 2, Drugs 1, Swearing 3.

Review date: 18 Nov 2019