1 Day (2009)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.

The last film from Penny Woolcock I saw was Exodus – a failed attempt to stage the story of Moses in Margate using real people as the majority of the cast. That film only sticks in my mind but the idea was good in terms of the creative process but yet it failed to work when it came to making a film. When I heard about 1 Day, the potential for me to end up saying the same thing seemed high because this is an urban drama thriller which is set in the world of Birmingham gangs, again casting real people without any need for experience acting. Did I mention it was also a musical? Well the action is also punctuated with UK grime scene tracks from the characters. It seemed to me like it may not work but since it was set in Birmingham I was interested to take a look.The film actually works pretty well as a straight thriller because the plot is essentially a race against time where Flash has to find the missing difference in the money he owes his boss or else get killed – all this while balancing the pressure from his family and his three babymothers. I liked this aspect of it because it did have a good pace to it and it did produce a rather exaggerated world of guns and gangs in a Midlands setting. It isn't the cleverest of scripts or the most thrilling of thrillers but I was reasonably interested in the overall flow of the story. The musical numbers don't really break this up too much and mostly they work – not all of them, but mostly they work. It helps I suppose that I personally like the music, but I can imagine that if you don't then they will only jar. The opening "through the streets" number is good but my personal favourites were the two babymothers (Justice and Lady Leshurr) going together – both had strong voices, impressive speeds and the lyrics were great.Others here have commented on the "negative presentation" of urban culture and there was added controversy when the film was removed from Birmingham cinemas in fears it would draw an audience from gangs and would produce trouble (even though the two gangs here are as fictional as the streets they represent). These two things gave me pause because in theory this film is no difference from loads of other crime thrillers – they all show crime, so why was 1 Day somehow giving gang culture a "voice" as opposed to just using it as a plot device? Well, the use of real people as actors suggests a documentarian edge. The musical numbers also prevents it being a full-on thriller. Mostly though, setting it in the very real world of Birmingham gangs perhaps suggest that it is giving the gangs an "outlet". I'm not totally sold on this but the film does have this rather unpleasant edge throughout because it is a little irresponsible in terms of content because it doesn't offer much in the way of condemnation while at the same also giving the characters a "voice".The best example of this is the track in the burger bar: this tracks has the 4 or 5 hoodies berating the (badly-acted and comical) frightened white customers for judging them on their looks and pulling their bags close etc. 3 minutes is given to the characters to make this point even though their actions in the rest of the film suggests that actually this is a perfectly correct assumption to make. It is also a shame that, although I liked the music, so much of it is violent and misogynist in content – which is why I liked the babymothers most perhaps, but it was clever and well used as a track.Overall 1 Day is not as bad as the score on IMDb currently suggests (3.9?). The basic plot is decent and the film has solid drama and pace to it, while I did also like the music and the way it worked within the film was much better than I expected. It does have a sense of the negative though and the use of "real" people and "real" locations suggest that the film is meant to have an element of "reality" to it but, beyond a humorous family meal and a preachy preacher, the vast majority of this reality is violent and negative. It has a limited appeal but if you are looking for an OK urban UK thriller or like your grime culture then this is actually worth a look.

Yay, just what the world was waiting for.. the first grime musical!! Yes, you heard it right.. the actors regularly break into profanity laden raps (complete with backing track) about how much they hate others and the variety of ways they're going to kill their enemies, and I have it say it works quite well. Apparently the cast wrote their own lyrics too, which makes it doubly impressive.Less certain however, is the acting, which ranges from reasonable to just plain diabolical. I supposed that's what you get when you hire non-professional stars for 'authenticity'. Also, the movie is just one big chase sequence after the first quarter of an hour, with bizarre comedic asides involving Flash's three bitchy baby mothers and his senile but domineering granny.It's completely unbelievable in every aspect, but somehow fun.. to a point. After the umpteenth foul-mouthed musical interlude, and yet another scene of Flash running from his pursuers, things get a little tiresome. They try to show some social realism as well, like a homeless young boy who has to steal for a living because his mum spends all her time at the local crack house, but this just comes over as window dressing.I have a feeling that it will be fully appreciated by those who share the same music tastes as the participants, or supporters of yoof cinema who think the current crop are just too sanitised. Otherwise, it's just like an extended, after-the-watershed episode of Eastenders, with a dash of Dizzee Rascal (before his pop career started) thrown in for good measure. Does that sound like fun? If so, take a look. 5/10

This movie covers the areas that have been missed by other film producers. The idea of using ex-gang members only makes the story more genuine and original. It's really well produced and the storyline is believable and it contradicts stereotypes associated with ex-gang members, as it shows another side to those who want to break free from the Birmingham gang lifestyle. The soundtrack to the movie is also original and authentic. It sets the mood and elevates the scene, with cast members 'spitting rhymes' from the grime scene, a genre, which originated among such gangs.Strongly recommend that you go and watch this film, it's an explosion of urban culture.

Seeing as we have plenty of drugs gangs in Britain, it was inevitable that someone would make a film set amongst drug gangs in a Black community in an inner-city. This film follows Flash as he tries to pay off a debt to a drug dealer. He must also deal with three children from three different women, and his mother, who is a very bossy sort. There is some rapping in the film, especially in the first half. At one point, it felt like a musical: the gang go into a takeaway, the customers reach for their wallet and look nervous, and the gang start to rap about how they're not out to burgle everyone. There is one rap between two women towards the end, which I felt disrupted the flow of the film as he neared its climax.There is not much violence in the film, although the subject of guns is discussed at length in parts. I'm glad that it tried to be different from the numerous US gangland films. The film is made more distinctive through the slang used, which is typical of the Black community in Birmingham. It's worth seeing, but I've given it just 7/10 because it lacks a clear meaning. There's no special kick that makes it stay in your memory.