100 Streets (2016)

One of the best films i have seen

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

100 Streets tells the stories of 3 very different people living within 100 streets from each other in London. The plot line says that they are 'extraordinary' stories, but to me this is just ridiculous sensationalism and grossly exaggerates what is actually on offer here...When watching this film it's hard not to think of the American film Crash (which presumably this British offering is trying to emulate). Although Crash won the best picture back in 2004 it's a film that I've never personally cared for and this British offering is no different...Yes 100 streets has the various story strands and all of these strands are established fairly well, but sadly much of what unfolds on screen is relatively uninteresting. I think the worst story arc in this film was the love triangle between Elba, Arterton and her bit on the side. I honestly found that I couldn't care less about any of these characters meaning that nearly every ounce of dialogue that was uttered by any of their characters went in one ear and out of the other. Whilst I kind of understood Arterton's character and the other bloke it was Idris Elba that was a mystery to me... I just found that his character made no sense. He's a bit of a womanising playboy who seemed to be living on past glories and has a troublesome relationship with his wife which he is trying to get back on track. Although he's a bit arrogant and showy I found him a fairly cool customer... but then out of nowhere he starts to descend into a massive downward spiral where he seems to lose all self-control (including drunken rampages and narcotics abuse all before he's due to comment on a Rugby match live at Twickenham which inevitably leads to him making a fool of himself on National TV). This is great for dramatic effect, but it all comes out of nowhere and makes little sense. He then gets it together for a bit only to start brandishing a shotgun a short while later. All this might have made an impact on me if I'd have been given any reason to care for Elba's character or even identify with him, but no such opportunity arises and his relentless selfishness started to grate on me after a while...So what do we then move on to exactly? Well we then have another couple who are trying to adopt a child, but are having problem doing this due to hubby's past indiscretions. His missus takes part in a fun run and the cabby knocks a woman down (not his fault I hasten to add, but merely an accident). Like the love triangle story arc I also found this thread rather uninteresting and despite the tragic events involving one characters action I felt strangely unmoved...Finally we come to the third story arc; the thread between Kingsley and Terence - this to me was the most natural and warm storyline and one that was actually worth investing in. In fact my only criticism with this thread was with how poorly Terence was developed as a character. Despite the familiar way that this thread was played out I did appreciate the warm bond that was developing between Kingsley and Terence - the fact that Terence played the only likable character from start to finish did help to make this story arc more endearing in all honesty. I actually found it a bit upsetting when those yobs gave him a good kicking and despite it being hard to watch it did showcase some realism and demonstrated some of the problems that anyone can encounter in some rough inner city areas.Some of the acting is good particularly from Idris Elba who is far too good for this film; Gemma Arterton and Franz Drameh are also strong in support. However, at its core 100 Streets is rather hollow and most of its story strands are uninteresting. The main problem I had here is that I had seen it all before and I wasn't all that impressed with it the first time round...

Right, so this is a sappy film. But, not cause of the acting in my opinion. Looks at the choices people make and how they deal with the realities that life presents them. The acting is good all around. Idris, Gemma, Franz Drameh and Ryan Gage put in good performances. Yes, it's stereotypical and predictable. The stories do not intersect are separate stories taking place at the same time. What throws it off and makes it sappy is the writing and the score/music. Seeing as Idriss Elba was the music supervisor this is kind of disappointing. I know his music chops are strong but the music made the whole film melodramatic. This is what gives it the syrupy feel. The screenplay is not interesting at all and presents characters in a particular light with little context. It's a good idea for a film, whose story structure has been done before. It lacks more the depth in writing to really draw you deep into the characters whose lives are on edge.

Although this intense British drama is not for everyone, I felt it does offer some rewards if one sticks with it. It depicts various interconnected stories of Londoners and a roller coaster of human lives and emotions. The film can be dark and violent at times, but it can also be quite touching and uplifting as well. Most of the characters here are flawed in one way or another, but I thought the ensemble cast portrayals were top notch. The director Jim O'Hanlon and screenwriter Leon F. Butler are making their feature film debuts here, but O'Hanlon does have extensive writing experience in television.To note, this is an adult drama with explicit language throughout, one fairly explicit sex scene, drug and alcohol usage on screen, and one brief scene of nudity. I also should mention I had to use the subtitles here due to thick accents and slang usage.Overall, this indie can be very uncomfortable to watch at times but I felt there are rewards here if the viewer sticks with it.

I strongly believe that reviews can take the magic out or embrace the greatness of any movie with a few paragraphs, so I will keep this simple. Having lived in London for several years, I have to admit I was positively prejudiced about the film from the very beginning. Nevertheless, it managed to meet and even surpass my already high expectations. The reason is simple. It was a slick enjoyable movie with a distinctive message, life is life. You cannot plan every step of they way, there is always something unexpected luring to happen. It is true that characters were not as emotional as a person would want them to, in order for him/her to find their struggles relate-able. Maybe that was the plan all along, who knows? (the director, obviously). All I know is I spent a relaxing evening enjoying a fine film.