Bullet Boy

"Admirably terse and tense, U.K. documentarian Saul Dibb's first dramatic feature "Bullet Boy" hurtles through the 48 hours or so that grimly determine fate for a young black East Londoner just out of juvenile lockup. Screenplay by helmer and Catherine R Johnson offers almost no narrative differentiation from standard Stateside boyz-'n-the-hood violent melodramas, save (occasionally impenetrable) heavily accented local lingo. But execution is closer to hot-wired Ken Loach, with superbly convincing performances and atmosphere..."

"The film certainly has a chillingly predictable arc - and there's something slightly glib about the upbeat ending - but it's a very accomplished debut by a film-maker who knows what suspense may be found in the mundane..."

"Gun culture goes under the microscope in Bullet Boy, Saul Dibb's powerful and moving directorial debut. Ashley Walters (aka So Solid Crew's Asher D) and newcomer Luke Fraser deliver compelling performances in this low-budget British drama, about a freshly-released jailbird who struggles to go straight on the mean streets of Hackney. On paper the clichés stack up like one of the film's high rise flats; on celluloid the movie overcomes its hackneyed plotline to deliver an all-too-believable message about the impact of firearms on a family..."