Powerful

Fresh and Exciting

When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

100 Streets is an undernourished and underwhelming slice of life drama set in London focussing on six characters who only obliquely interact with each other.Idris Elba plays Max, a former rugby star turned television pundit. His wife Emily (Gemma Arterton) caught him cheating with the babysitter and they have split up. Emily is now seeing someone else but it is Max whose life is unravelling with drugs and booze.Kingsley (Franz Drameh) is a young drug dealer in the hood, he has been in trouble with the law but finds an avenue to express himself as a street poet when he meets an aged actor.The most interesting story is of cab driver George (Charlie Creed-Miles) who with his wife Kathy (Kierston Wareing) are hoping to adopt a child but face several knocks including the revelation that George was a hooligan in his youth. The couple strive to pick up the pieces of their live in a positive way.Elba has the more showy role which includes his rather public meltdown but the whole thing just felt rather depressing and undistinguished.

I suppose melancholy would be a perfect term to describe what it is really. The experience of watching this was almost voyeuristic because of the manner with which is was shot, it was a very intimate portrait on the lives of seemingly everyday people just dealing with the trials and tribulations of everyday life and making the most of it. Life happens to all of us whether we like it or not.

This film tells the story of several residents in inner London. They are from different social classes, ranging from a sport superstar living in fancy mansions, to young man who struggles to break free from being a small time criminal.I can't even remember why I wanted to watch it in the first place. Perhaps it was because of the two notable stars, Idris and Gemma. They portray a couple who are going through relationship issues, but unfortunately their story is not very engaging. The ending of their story is simply unrealistic and over-dramatised. For the subplot of the young man who wants to embark on the right path, it is the more engaging story. It is sad that his mentor died, but unfortunately the story telling just is not very captivating. This subplot should evoke sympathy and emotions, but it does nothing to me. Maybe it is because the characters in the film have little emotional displays, they just get on with their lives in an ordinary manner. The resultant film is not as touching or affecting as one could have hoped.

Every so often, and after a lot of trawling through some pretty awful films, a gem is discovered.A Hundred Streets is a gem of a film. Raw, powerful, with acting of the highest caliber. I've just finished watching it this very minute, and I could watch it again. There aren't many films you could say that about recently.I'm not going to give away any of the plot, as that would be a rather shabby exercise. But safe to say I enjoyed every single second of this wonderful film.Yes, I liked it. You may already have guessed that. 10 /10 from me.