2) Kidulthood

Noel Clarke’s Kidulthood is about as close as you’re ever likely to get to associating with inhabitants of the dank housing projects of southern England. Raw, gritty, and intimidatingly authentic, Kidulthood places the viewer squarely within the same walls as these London teenagers, and the results are scary.

Documenting the lives of West London teens on a day that their school closes to allow mourning for a bullied girl who’d committed suicide, Kidulthood reflects how the impetuous behaviour of naive youths can have serious and tragic consequences. The petty squabbles and boy-girl drama that typify high school life are all present, but are given a disturbingly nastier layer. These themes should inhabit a different universe to these kids.

Whilst it spends very little time with the confines of the high school, Clarke’s searing drama actually acts as an argument for the importance and value of educational establishments. The events of Kidulthood demonstrate how the raw, restless, aimless energy of these teens has devastating effects when channeled and influenced by the dark London streets. They are too young to know what’s best for them, and too old to be told otherwise.

Heavy with thick London accents and slang, following the dialogue of Kidulthood can at times be as tricky as digesting its unsettling content. But to stick with it is a fascinating experience of certain working-class British teen culture, with Kidulthood demonstrating how aimlessness and boredom are fare more powerful emotions than people are willing to admit – driving kids to commit perilous acts.