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Reporter Aarony recently got a chance to sit down and chat with the cast of Yardie, in cinemas now, delving into the impact and cultural significance of British actor Idris Elba's directorial debut with two of the film's leads.
Set in Hackney, East London in the early 1980s, Yardie is Elba's adaptation of Victor Headley's novel of the same name, and sees two lives thrown into chaos when D (Aml Ameen) and Yvonne (Shantol Jackson), embark on a bloody and explosive quest for retribution when D encounters the man who killed his brother 10 years earlier.
Speaking to Aarony, Ameen and Jackson spoke about how significant the film has been in telling stories that do not always make it into the mainstream, and the potential this has to allow for more diverse forms of storytelling to take place. Check out the full interview in the video above, and read Aarony's review of Yardie below.
Visit Find Any Film to find screenings of the film near you, and for more interviews, go to our Get Into Film YouTube channel.
Yardie is in cinemas across the UK from 31 August 2018.
Aarony reviews Yardie
Yardie follows the story of a boy named ‘D' (Dennis) who we see turn into a man go through life struggling to make good and bad decisions based on the situations he encounters. The film tackles many current issues despite it being set in the early 80's, such as gun and knife crime and drug dealing. A big issue presented was the idea of how violence isn't really the answer. Throughout the film we see how fighting and violence only creates more problems for the characters onscreen and how although it may seem easy it's actually extremely hard to escape, especially if it's constantly in your surroundings or if you've made enemies.
The film is a timepiece and it's evident within the storyline, culture and editing. Watching it made me feel like I was in a time machine being sent back into the early 80's.The aesthetic of the film was beautiful; the warm tones and sepia effect on the film made it feel incredibly vintage. The contrast between Jamaica and London was interesting as well, as Jamaica had quite bright and vibrant colours whereas London was very blue, and grey and misty which as a whole was stunning to see on a big screen. It also helped me to understand how the characters viewed both places. Jamaica to them must have represented happiness and memories of their childhood they spent there, whereas London must reflect having to grow up, make adult decisions and having to deal with past issues.
The music throughout the film helped move the storyline along as well and was a big reoccurring theme. It helped to represent peace, whether it be between D and Yvonne (his wife), between gangs or just between people, I loved seeing music being symbolised as something pure and happy.
