MovieChat Forums > Ill Manors (2012) Discussion > This film is a masterpiece and here's wh...

This film is a masterpiece and here's why.


Firstly, at a low budget of £100,000 this film is absolutely astonishing.

Warning there are spoilers in this post if you haven't seen the film.

Yes - there is the portrayal of an angry, arrogant bunch of people who are considered the lowest of the low among us. Of course it is perhaps exaggerating the situation, but i don't think that he takes it too far in doing so.

There are people out there like this that we never come to realize or notice, simply because we choose to ignore it. The opening sentences is the reality among most of Britain today - he is explaining the significance of things "we find insignificant but won't further down the line" (if we are to end up in the same situation).

From this comes a gritty, truthful and blood pumping story which is all well put together and composed into one brilliantly and in a horrifying manner.

As you have all noticed from the ending, Drew (Plan B), is the taxi driver narrating the entire story. He see's this go on all day and everyday, things we (the general public) are never exposed to, whether this has a meaning behind it or not - i found it a clever end to the film.

Those who say that this portrays a dark and gloomy side to the council estates of London - you are correct. However what people fail to realise is that this film doesn't just focus about the bad negative sides of council estate lives. In fact, many of the characters involved are not council homed, showing our real lack of understanding in that this happens outside of them too - the place where we believed everything wrong in England to come from. However, the main character for instance, is trapped in a world he doesn't want to be in. He is provided with several opportunities to participate in the "bad" activities that happen all around him yet he doesn't. It portrays a message of hope, in that after witnessing these horrific things that have happened around him he finally opens the letter and leaves. The prostitute although a drug addict and a shady character truly has a good side to her and wants to help the immigrant mother find her child. Even Ed, who we are convinced has no moral standards and good to him at the end risks his life to save the child. I never would have expected him to do so ad thought he would simply walk out. This however could be seen when he hands the child over to the pub owners. although he did financially benefit from it, it must be argued that he had a point in doing in. Again, proving that these dark, horrible people do have some kind of morals although they have had them challenged through their lives. The same cant be said for others though - and that is what people watching the film focus on - Chris for example, but his wrongdoings finally come and bite him at the end.

A lot of the acting was heart hitting and horrifying at the same time. There are so many things I would mention regarding the actors but this I feel would be left better to a review. It's one of those films that really makes you rethink the world you live in.

To say the acting was shabby and un-realistic is being once again ignorant. It is a fantastic portrayal of some of the worst kind of people living in London and trust me, they do exist.

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he is explaining the significance of things "we find insignificant but won't further down the line" (if we are to end up in the same situation)
Yes! I loved that and it reminds me of Shakespeare.

The scene when Ed is throwing the gun, then the baby and then himself from the window in the pub was one of the best done in the entire film. First we had a realistic fire scene in which people were quickly overcome by the fumes - how often do you see that?! Then we see as a camera shot the baby's life in jeopardy as it falls having been thrown by Ed with Aaron hoping to catch it. Then Ed's fall as he tried but stumbles climbing out of the window. That whole scene was amazing. It was made even more poignant by the use of the home video pics of young boys who represent Ed and Aaron as children. I loved showing footage of the characters as babies and children. It helped put their adult selves in context.
Fatima had a fetish for a wiggle in her scoot

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100k? wow... made me appreciate the movie even more.

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I knew it was low budget but 100k is astonishing.

Its that man again!!

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Totally agree and well said

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Agreed, it was a really good film and especially impressive to be made on such a low budget. It has been criticized for not providing a "realistic" depiction of East London, but I think most location-based films/TV shows are subject to this criticism and it isn't really fair.

To me a film should only be judged by how realistic it is to its own conventions and within its own cinematic world, and I think this film was excellent in that regard. The acting was high-quality, and the characterization was more complex than the usual Guy Ritchie-ripoff gangster/junkie stereotypes - even the nastiest ones had believable motivations and some positive personality traits. Chris was a violent man and a child-killer but he was ultimately trying to avenge his sister. Ed was an evil thug and a pimp but he risked his life to save a child. Michelle was a junkie crack whore but she too put herself at risk to help someone else.

I also thought the plot was well-paced, and I had a real emotional reaction to many of the scenes. A lot of the desperation/violence was genuinely distressing and moving, and the baby scene at the end was about as stressed-out as I've ever been at the cinema. Critics seem to judge this movie on whether it was a realistic depiction of the British underclass, but who cares? I can only judge it on its cinematic qualities and on that score I think it was quite successful.

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With all non-action/comedy films I really love I wait about 5 years before re-watching so I won't remember too much. Unfortunately with this film I'm not going to forget anything.

The violence was horrifying depicting effectively how people prey on each other in ghettos but more than that trying to give reasons for doing so. I live around North East London and I never see any of it, I know it must go on and the film really brought this home for me. The worst scene for me was the drug buyer who was tied up and beaten/tortured and laughed at. The rap scene with the kid going to his first house party and "busting a nut" was incredibly sad too.

The real brilliance, as you've mentioned is that the Director didn't just make it an awfully depressing film about the ghettos. The characters were believable because they weren't all pure evil.

Also shows how the primary vices: drugs and prostitution are the commodities which garner power. Those who control these, control power.

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Bauer vs. Bourne, that is the question.

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