iLL Manors review

iLL Manors is a gritty social realism/crime-drama which has been written by and directed by rapper Plan B (Ben Drew) which explores the rough lives of those living in a gritty suburb in East London. Ben Drew has illustrated the hardship that some people face outstandingly and I personally see iLL Manors as a captivating film I could not take my eyes off.

Plan B, who is actually a rapper is an inexperienced director, iLL Manors became greenlit for production in 2009 as part of the Film London Microwave scheme which funds amateur directors. I believe this is quite interesting as it is a breakthrough for the British film industry, an inexperienced director/rapper creating a 3.5 star film is quite an achievement for the film industry. The genre of social realism is quite gritty and Plan B has managed to represent the hardship and struggle that some people may have to face i.e. being human trafficked, taken up by a drug cartel greatly through a captivating 2 hour film

In terms of genres, this film is formally seen as a British crime drama, which does fit my expectations for this type of film. The mood of this film is quite gritty in terms of the crime and there are elements of drama also present within the film.  However, I personally believe that this film fits more into the theme of social realism as it explores the hardship and social issues that some may have to face on a realistic scale.

The film plot is based on 8 main characters who consist of drug dealers, criminals and prostitutes who reside in the crime-ridden suburbs of East London. These characters face several conflicts as they attempt to make a living while trying to escape the bleak cycle of their lives.  Their lives eventually intertwine as their problems collide with each other.  I find the plot to be quite inventive as Plan B has managed to intertwine the lives of different characters who all carry different stories and are struggling to survive in the rough suburbs of London together over the period of a week.

The main stars of the film are Riz Ahmed, Ed Skrein and Lee Allen who some of the audience may already be familiar with.  Riz Ahmed for example has already appeared in Hollywood films such as Nightcrawler,  but Ed Skrien‘s first film role happens to be in iLL Manors where his role was specifically written for him.   The use of untrained and trained actors is quite intriguing and I was unaware of this until I had done some research. The actors are quite good in terms of portraying their characters and their personalities/issues they face etc. and their lack of professional acting experience goes unnoticed. The main characters are Aaron and Ed who are played by Ed Skrein and Riz Ahmed.  With Ed’s first acting role being  as Ed, one of the main characters, he has done quite an outstanding job as he made his character so realistic and believable. Ahmeds acting was also amazing and the duo together created this image of a true friendship despite the hardships and struggles they face throughout the film. Ed’s death and Aarons reaction to this was heartbreaking when I was watching this film and it must have been quite shattering for the audience too. 

The soundtrack fits the theme of the film, as gang crime is often linked towards “Rap” music in today’s society. The fact that each story is also represented by a different rap song performed by Plan B is quite creative, and can also be seen as a form of self-promotion which is not a bad thing as Plan B is quite a good at it. Telling a story through a rap and also making it sound good at the same time is not an easy thing therefore this is quite an accomplishment. The mise-en-scene of the film is also excellent, through factors such as clothing, location and good casting Ben Drew was able to portray the characters as being British, and with the location being on a council estate there is a sense of realism as the audience are likely to live in one or come across one. 

In terms of the audience of iLL Manors, according to the BBFC this film is classified as an 18 because of the strong language and content. Despite being an 18 film, regarding the demographics of the film I believe it would be aimed at 15-25 year olds primarily because the storyline can be relatable to teens i.e. the conflicts that take place and hardship of growing up in certain estates. The fact that it is a social realism film also links back to the target audience as films like this could shed light to the crime that could be taking place right in front of our eyes, hence young adults may also have an interest. However this does not mean someone of age 34 for example who is in the middle class would not watch this film, as they may also want to watch it because it could raise awareness and let them see the world from a different perspective. 

Overall, Ill Manors is an admirable film which can be truly inspiring for hopeful amateur film makers. The film addresses a strong topic which raises quite a lot of awareness for the audience on the issues that some may have to deal with  as Ben Drew states that he was inspired by stories he had heard.