THE EMPIRE VIEWING GUIDE

BROTHERHOOD Noel Clarke takes us inside the final part of his trilogy of thrillers

00:01:09 THE NIGHTCLUB

__ Like Kidulthood and

Adulthood, Brotherhood is very much informed by Clarke’s knowledge of west London. The opening nightclub shooting was filmed in and around futuristic-looking Ladbroke Grove club Mode. “It used to be called subterranean,” says Clarke. “I used to go when I was younger. I still live in the borough, so the location manager’s job is hard — I tend to know where I’m writing about.”

00:01:51 THE CREDIT

__ As the cast list unfolds, Clarke’s name doesn’t appear until the end, when he takes an “and Noel Clarke” credit. He insists this wasn’t a deliberate gambit to prepare the audience for the possibility of Sam’s demise. “I’m writing the film, I’m directing it, I don’t need to be number one on the call sheet,” he says. “If you give that to another actor, it bolsters them, makes them happy. And you can get them cheaper!”

00:37:05 THE STATEMENT

__ Talking with crime kingpin Uncle Curtis (Cornell John), who has targeted Sam for revenge, Clarke delivers, for him, the movie’s key lines: “No matter how much you try to evolve, no matter how much you try to dull the memory of it or explain to people that you’ve improved as a person, they always try and drag you back in.” Says Clarke, “That speech encompasses Sam in the film, and where I was in my life.”

01:16:08 THE ANGEL OF PEACE

__ Although Sam goes on something of a rampage of revenge at the end, take note: he doesn’t actually kill anyone. Yes, he takes a nail gun to one particularly odious opponent, but he’s not in the business of snuffing people out. “He can’t,” admits Clarke. “He’s spent his whole life regretting killing someone [at the end of

Kidulthood]. If he kills someone, he hasn’t learned anything. The whole three films are about that.”

00:06:28 THE KEG

__ For Clarke, who returned to Sam Peel’s world after a decade away, the film was a chance to show how much had changed. Including his physique. Here, Sam studies himself in a gym mirror. “He’s older and out of shape,” says Clarke. “I always write these films from where I am. I’m older. I put on a stone-and-a-half for that — difficult to lose.” One shot, of Sam in the shower, was “reframed” to remove Clarke’s arse from view.

00:38:47 THE JIBE

__ As Sam leaves the meeting with Curtis, he finds his way blocked by a gang of kids who fall about laughing when Sam says, “Out of my way, blud.” “Times have changed,” admits Clarke. “In Adulthood we said ‘blud’ a lot, and I saw a video mocking that. Over the years, people stopped saying it, so I thought I’d take the piss out of it.” If you want to know what’s street now, Clarke can’t help you. “They say loads of different things.”

01:18:31 THE CHANGE OF HEART

__ In one of the most surprising scenes, not only does Henry (Arnold Oceng) talk the threatening Yardz (played by grime artist Stormzy) out of killing him, but Yardz reveals a softer side, turning his back on crime. “For me, it’s an important scene,” says Clarke. “Sometimes these kids are just kids and it’s not what they want to do. But what the fuck else are they going to do when they feel they’ve been given no opportunities?”

00:13:55 THE INFIDELITY

__ Early on, Sam’s seduced by Tonia Sotiropoulou’s Janette in an attempt to blackmail him into working for Big Bad Daley (Jason Maza). “That was a scene of contention,” admits Clarke. “But I put it in to show that Sam is massively flawed. I spoke to my wife about that scene. She said, “Would you do that?” I said, “I’d never put myself in that situation!” For the sex scenes later on, Clarke wore a pouch to encase his family jewels.

00:56:02 THE DEATH

__ With Sam resisting all attempts from Curtis to lure him into a confrontation, an inciting incident is required. So they pitch Sam’s mum (Adjoa Andoh) off the balcony of her flat. Clarke says he went through many permutations, considering several of Sam’s relatives. “The people you’re closest to are your kids and your mum,” he says. “But I thought [killing the kids] was too much. It was a big decision, but it had to be done.”

01:37:28 THE END IS NIGH

__ “It’s done.” With the film’s last line, and a “Christopher Reeve look to the camera”, Sam declares his position on future skulduggery. Again, Sam is speaking for Clarke. “When you do something too much, people can turn against it,” he says. “I’m done with these films.”

BROTHERHOOD IS OUT NOW ON DVD, BLU-RAY AND DOWNLOAD