Μύ Asher D of So Solid Crew pulls an 8 Mile to take the lead in the "powerful and moving" Bullet Boy. British helmer Saul Dibb made his directorial debut with this crime drama about black kids drawn into the gun culture of London's deprived East End. While it failed to take the box office by storm, this rarely told story has made an impact on the festival circuit with Asher D winning a gong for Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards.
Gunning For Success
Two substantial featurettes, running at almost half an hour each, make up the bulk of the extras package. Behind The Shots visits the cast and crew on location who each explain what the story means to them personally. Of course the younger cast members were plucked from obscurity to appear in the film but are well familiar with the problems affecting their characters. Ashley Walters (aka Asher D) refers to the "vicious cycle" that many black kids fall prey to while growing up in rougher areas of the city. Meanwhile Curtis Walker talks about the portrayal of family life and how that separates this from the average gangster film. Screenwriter Catherine Johnson elaborates, explaining, "I wanted this to be a film about kids, not gangsters - they're just kids." Naturally Saul Dibb is also on hand to explain his broader vision and sets it within a very specific tradition of filmmaking. "What British films are very good at," he says, "is taking apart something in a personal way without sentimentalising it".
A video diary follows Asher D on rounds to promote the film, including a handful of radio interviews and a photo shoot at the BFI, which, for some reason, requires him to wear a greasy Afro Γ la Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Among these lighter moments, however, there are serious points to be made. Asher's well-publicised stint in jail becomes the topic of conversation in one of the radio interviews and he talks openly and honestly about the decision to change his life and become "a good role model" for his three children. "I'm a very different person than I was three years ago", he says, "This is the man I need to be".
Shooting From The Hip
Elsewhere, a reel of audition tapes offers more than the average line reading. In fact these are recorded workshops, which gave the cast of untested actors a chance to find and develop their characters through the process of improvisation. Little Luke Fraser (who plays Curtis) is especially striking in his stillness - wide eyes filled not with childish wonder as much as weary cynicism.
Unfortunately Dibbs doesn't give an audio commentary and the problem of gun crime is only discussed in passing. The featurettes do cover a lot of ground, but a separate focus on this key issue would've put the story into clearer context. Even so, this DVD edition of Bullet Boy is sure to trigger debate.
EXTRA FEATURES
