1 Day

When writer-director Penny Woolcock was violently mugged some years ago, she realised that her assailant was just as scared she was. Using firsthand research, Woolcock decided to investigate what makes young people who are not inherently bad turn to crime. The result is 1 Day – Woolcock’s latest film and the first hip-hop musical (differentiating it from all the other British estate of the nation films out there), using rap to capture the frustration, anger and reality of the protagonists lives, as well as how they define themselves. Think West Side Story meets Bullet Boy.

The great thing is that as unlikely as it sounds it actually works. By street casting, using local rappers and people from the community to play the characters, as Woolcock previously did in earlier urban drama Mischief Night, the film succeeds as a convincing portrait of life on the margins. And there are some pretty catchy songs too; Urban Monk (who produced the music) is a certain talent to watch out for.

The film takes place in inner-city Birmingham and focuses on 24 hours in the life of Flash (Duffus), a local drug-dealer who has been keeping £500k for his boss Angel (Watson) while in prison. When Angel is released Flash is short of £100k and needs to make up the money by that evening, otherwise he endangers himself and his family. Along the way he is harassed by his three ‘babymothers’  (the brilliantly outraged Justice, Lady L and Natasha Holmes), gets tricked into an ambush by fellow drug-dealer Evil (Tobias Duncan), leaving him temporarily without a car, gun or drugs, and meets the young Pest (a star turn from Orhan Whyte) who he initiates into his criminal lifestyle. He then gets hassled by his God-fearing Jamaican nanny (Monica Ffrench in another stand-out performance) and mother (Carol Chambers); and gets a talking-to from the wise local pastor (Bishop Derek Webley) who warns him about the ‘consequences’ of a lifestyle where you’re  ‘constantly having to look over your shoulder’.

The film sets the tone from the opening shots of rival gangs the Old Street Crew and the Zampa Boys fiercely battling out in the form of song ‘war tune’, while the next image of Flash cooking crack while rocking his baby’s cot with his foot succinctly conveys the juxtaposing pressures he is under. Starkly showing that not even being a gang can offer protection, as they quickly turn guns on each-other, Woolcock never judges but suggets that this is a dog-eat-dog world where for them choices are limited. It also shows that peer pressure, fear of being left behind and bad role models all contribute (shown explicitly in Pest’s crack addict mother and the encouragement he gets from Flash to buy nicer clothes by robbing hand-bags).

Like Matteo Garrone’s gritty mafioso drama Gomorrah, 1 Day doesn’t shy away from ending without any sense of redemption, as Flash fails to grow from his experiences and is instead forced to ‘fix up’ and carry on. Moments of comedy help to relieve the tension, particularly with Ffrench’s nanny, who insists in one scene on Flash’s rival gangsters coming into church, and with the witty wordplay of songs like ‘Men are from Mars.’ Woolcock’s film is an eye-opener that everyone should see, especially our politicians.

Priscilla Eyles

Anticipation:

People bursting out into song in a gritty urban setting, could it work? And can another urban British drama even say anything new?

Enjoyment:

Engaging, uncompromising and realistic, with a cast whose previously untapped talent is fully on display here. The songs feel an organic part of the narrative too.

In Retrospect:

Woolcock has overcome all odds to produce one of the best British flicks since This Is England.