The Film Reports

FILM REVIEW

3.5 stars

Scifi, Comedy

Attack the Block opens with a group of working class teenagers, roaming around south London until they decide to rob Sam (Jodie Whittaker). In the middle of this attempted robbery, an alien falls down from the sky. Tension-fuelled action ensues but the most interesting part of this film lies in how it gently explores the lives of the teens. John Boyega’s Moses is at the forefront of this group, deftly dealing with both sides of his identity; a neglected child who has essentially been abandoned, and the clever leader of the ragtag group of kids. These teens could pass for genuine South Londoners, they speak in a different dialect and it was actually a little exciting to hear them speak in a dialect that is often overlooked in mainstream media. Joe Cornish’s research on real life teenagers shines. As well as the dialect, Cornish also brings up the reality of living in a council flat block. At one point, one of the boys tells Sam that they were just as scared as she was when they robbed her. And despite the obvious moral issue there, I found that I believed and sympathised with him.

However, the focus of the film is definitely still the aliens. Although CGI would be typically expected, Attack the Block cleverly uses minimal effects to create a more realistic (and scary) result. On the other hand, they use weapons for humour. And the dialogue! Is brilliant! It’s so funny. Sometimes it does rely very obviously on the slang to be funny but on the whole, the film blends the serious with the funny so well that it doesn’t feel like too much of a crime.

Watch it at: night! To truly appreciate those aliens and the general atmosphere of the film.