Grit and joy mix in inner-city tale
THE BIG RELEASE ROCKS 12 ★★★★★
GIRLS just wanna have fun, but what if they can’t afford that luxury? Sixteen-year-old Shola, aka Rocks, is a seemingly irrepressible British-Nigerian schoolgirl. Raised in Hackney, east London, Rocks loves hanging with her mates and doing their make-up for 50p.
However, her sunny outlook is painfully dulled when her depressive mother walks out leaving £30 and a note that she’s gone to clear her head. Suddenly, Rocks is forced to grow up and shoulder a heavy burden of responsibility to prevent herself and her seven-yearold brother (a divine little D’angelou Osei Kissiedu) being taken into foster care.
On paper, Rocks (the movie) promises all the unrelenting, grind-you-down-to-angry-tears miserablism of a Ken Loach movie. Rocks (the girl), however, is not for grinding – though she’s well up for twerking. Yes, her defences slam up, her light dims, but her resilience is remarkable – and remarkably believable thanks to her glorious embodiment by teenaged newcomer Bukky Bakray, who wasn’t even taking drama GCSE when she was talent-spotted for the role.
Though co-written by Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson, the film was workshopped for more than a year with a cast of mostly non-actors and other young Londoners. That process is the secret weapon that enabled the film-makers to capture these vivid characters (special mention to Kosar Ali as Rocks’ Somali BFF) and their melting pot inner-city world with such vivid and compelling authenticity.
Indeed, for much of the film you’ll wonder if it’s documentary rather than fiction. Happily, it’s the latter because you’re that bit more likely to get that ultimately uplifting ending we all crave. But Rocks’ journey is still a heart-wrencher (remember to bring tissues as well as your face mask), pulling you out of your own troubles and into hers.
It’s the finest film yet from director Sarah Gavron (Suffragette, Brick Lane), whose camera no longer hovers politely here, like an earnest tourist, but gets fully stuck in. A gorgeous movie packed with hope and powered by street cred, Rocks rocks.