UK: Violence in "iLL Manors" reflects life on London's streets, says rapper-turned-director Plan B

Record ID: 220856

  • Title: UK: Violence in "iLL Manors" reflects life on London's streets, says rapper-turned-director Plan B
  • Date: 1st June 2012
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (MAY 30, 2012) (REUTERS) ACTOR RIZ AHMED WALKS RED CARPET (SOUNDITE) (English) RIZ AHMED, ACTOR, SAYING: "I think a lot of the film is a really uncomfortable watch. But I think it's important that it raises these issues and it puts them there on the table because you know it's only a year ago that the whole of the UK was in flames and it's kind of unbelievable that underprivileged young people is now off the agenda completely and if this film goes some way towards putting it back on the table I think it's a success." VARIOUS OF AHMED TALKING TO REPORTERS (SOUNDITE) (English) RIZ AHMED, ACTOR, ON WHETHER BRITISH MINISTERS SHOULD WATCH THE FILM, SAYING: "Perhaps for a government that does have a lot of millionaires in it, watching this film could go some way towards bridging the gap of empathy." VARIOUS OF ACTOR ED SKREIN GIVING INTERVIEWS (SOUNDITE) (English) ED SKREIN, ACTOR, SAYING: (Reporter: "Do you think it's realistic of what's happening on the streets?") "Do you know the sad thing is it is. I am standing here in a Savile Row suit, Empire Leicester Square, I've been in a posh hotel all day. We're doing all this and eight miles down the road there's real-life Eds and real-life Aarons, you know, and there's loads of them and they're there right now following that same path, you know. So what I hope is that "iLL Manors" serves as a window into that side of society."
  • Embargoed: 16th June 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVABR0QWO68G1TU7559LV5CYPHHI
  • Story Text: Rapper-turned-director Ben Drew, better known by the stage name Plan B, attended the world premiere of his debut movie "iLL Manors" on Wednesday (May 30).
    The film, which he also wrote, is a graphic portrayal of crime and its consequences that revolves around a series of events that interweave between characters and their narrative.
    Drew said that his movie - like his music - addresses issues that are uncomfortable but that need to be acknowledged, although as a piece of entertainment he had to use some artistic licence.
    "I tried to be as accurate as possible in terms of the content. I think my artistic licence, my liberties that I have taken with the film is that it all happens, you know, in a two-mile radius and it happens within a week to a bunch of people that all have some sort of connection. So maybe that's the fiction," he said.
    Featuring original music from Plan B, "iLL Manors" stars Riz Ahmed and Ed Skrein.
    Youth crime and anti-social behaviour has been a headline-grabbing issue in Britain, viscerally illustrated by the London riots in August last year. Drew said "iLL Manors" tries to get across the message that young people are trapped in a cycle of destruction because of their environment and the influence of their elders. However, he said the film's tagline and central message -- "We are all products of our environment" -- was not an attempt to excuse crime or violence, just to explain it.
    "I'm not saying it's an excuse. Like, well he got beaten up by his parents when he was a kid and then he stabbed another kid so that's the excuse, that's why he done it, we should all have sympathy for him. I'm not saying that, I'm saying no but that's the reason. So surely if we want kids to stop stabbing other kids we need to look at the families and we need to look how these kids are being brought up and what is creating these monsters -- because these kids are growing up into monsters, man," he said.
    Some critics have said the film is misogynistic because of the amount of violence towards women and the lack of strong female characters -- a charge Drew angrily confronted.
    "Yeah I know what, you want to say the film's misogynistic. Go on the street, me and you we'll go down Hackney [area of East London] now, you show me how many female drug dealers, like at the top, that are running the streets Or you can come and I'll show you all the prostitutes that have got pimps, that have got men beating them around and forcing them to do things they don't want to do. The streets are misogynistic, wake the fuck up. The film is misogynistic? Well if the film is an accurate portrayal of the streets, then the streets is what we need to fucking address. People say let's ban this film - no, ban the shit that's happening on the streets, prevent that from happening, but we're not," he said.
    The lead role of Aaron is played by rising British star Riz Ahmed, who also starred in controversial British black comedy about Islamist terrorists, "Four Lions". He said the movie should have particular resonance in the UK after the 2011 summer riots.
    "I think a lot of the film is a really uncomfortable watch. But I think it's important that it raises these issues and it puts them there on the table because you know it's only a year ago that the whole of the UK was in flames and it's kind of unbelievable that underprivileged young people is now off the agenda completely and if this film goes some way towards putting it back on the table I think it's a success," he said.
    Ahmed suggested the movie should be watched by British lawmakers.
    "Perhaps for a government that does have a lot of millionaires in it, watching this film could go some way towards bridging the gap of empathy," he told Reuters Television.
    Actor and rapper Ed Skrein plays Ed, the central villain of the piece -- he says what the movie depicts is all too real.
    "I am standing here in a Savile Row suit, Empire Leicester Square, I've been in a posh hotel all day. We're doing all this and eight miles down the road there's real-life Eds and real-life Aarons, you know, and there's loads of them and they're there right now following that same path, you know. So what I hope is that "iLL Manors" serves as a window into that side of society," he said.
    The title "iLL Manors" is the same as a record Drew released in March 2012, a song which deals with the 2011 London riots and which was described by Britain's Guardian newspaper as "the first great mainstream protest song in years".
    "iLL Manors" is released in the UK on June 6.
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