Directed by:
Mo AliScreenplay:
Paul Van CarterCinematography:
Adam FrischComposer:
Chad HobsonCast:
Adam Deacon, Kaya Scodelario, Colin Salmon, Luke de Woolfson, Robbie Gee, Terry Stone, Michael Socha, Kedar Williams-Stirling, Aml Ameen, Jennie Jacques (more)Plots(1)
Cal (Wayne Virgo) is a handsome teenage thug so desperate to hide his gay cravings from his fellow gang members that he binges on drugs, secretive anonymous sex and acts of violence. But the bad boy s secret desires are uncovered when he rescues a kind-eyed French exchange student from one of the clan s sadistic hate crimes. Though the two boys fall passionately in love, Cal s crew is bent on revenge for his betrayal and the young lovers are placed in unspeakable danger. (official distributor synopsis)
(more)Reviews (1)
An insanely over-stylized ride, with overdone and at times almost tasteless alternating between slow-motion and sped-up shots + "comic book" or game inserts, which on the outside look awfully cool and extramodern, but in the end feel rather superficial and cheap. I'm not saying that the production is devoid of ideas (it certainly isn't), but the creators failed to find some reasonable line between an acceptable "more modern" concept and mindless self-indulgence. The raw and authentic atmosphere of Kidulthood or Adulthood (the poster was a very pathetic effort) is here completely replaced with a clip extravaganza in which the director outdoes himself in how his "teaser" will give us more visual paint... On the one hand, it's a pity, because if Shank has any social subtext or resonance, it's largely drowned out in the director's aforementioned ultra-stylized procedures. So why am I giving it 3 stars despite this rather negative assessment? It's certainly not a boring affair that makes you yawn – on the contrary, Shank, with its brisk pace, offers an experience that is completely freeing and solves nothing, which I'm even tempted to repeat in the near future, but that doesn't change the fact that the aforementioned Kidulthood and Adulthood (also British films with similar themes) are at least a class above.
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