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★½☆☆☆
15 July 2018
A movie review of YARDIE. |
“You can’t go on like this,” Yvonne (Shantol Jackson)
I hate to write this. Really. I am a big fan of Idris Elba as an actor. YARDIE is woeful. Like Brie Larson’s directorial debut, UNICORN STORE (2017), the crushing disappointment is palpable. YARDIE is neither entertaining nor thought-provoking. Gang violence is currently regularly in British news. Often the underlying commentary is one of race, but causation is more complicated and actually to do with socio-economic background, austerity, cruel politics, and hopelessness, irrespective of skin colour. YARDIE does not illuminate. It is riddled with gangster crime flick clichés. Compare and contrast the cultural commentary in BABYLON (1980).
I hate to write this. Really. I am a big fan of Idris Elba as an actor. YARDIE is woeful. Like Brie Larson’s directorial debut, UNICORN STORE (2017), the crushing disappointment is palpable. YARDIE is neither entertaining nor thought-provoking. Gang violence is currently regularly in British news. Often the underlying commentary is one of race, but causation is more complicated and actually to do with socio-economic background, austerity, cruel politics, and hopelessness, irrespective of skin colour. YARDIE does not illuminate. It is riddled with gangster crime flick clichés. Compare and contrast the cultural commentary in BABYLON (1980).
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YARDIE is about the STAR WARS dichotomy: The dark side or the light. Here, phrased to take the righteous path or the damned. 1973, Kingston, Jamaica, and two gangs are killing each other with civilians caught in the crossfire. This motivates Jerry (Everaldo Creary) to heal the community through music and a party. One element showcasing Elba’s potential behind the camera is his ability to direct rave sequences.
On the verge of conciliation, Jerry’s tactic appears to be working, but is gunned down by a child. Jerry is the older brother of lead Dennis (Aml Ameen). His only family dead, and one imagines deep isolation is mixed in with grief and anger, but the movie does not pause to give us atmosphere and characterisation. Even with a voice over, does any audience member actually care about the protagonist? We are not invested in his journey.
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Time jump and YARDIE becomes a drug dealing pic along with a revenge flick. There has been no justice for Jerry, and Dennis’s grief has festered. His boss, King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd), sends him to London to expand narcotics distribution. Big smoke contact is Rico (Stephen Graham), whose character’s attempt at a Jamaican accent is intentionally hilarious. Think Gary Oldman in TRUE ROMANCE (1993). Along with PUBLIC ENEMIES (2009) and television show BOARDWALK EMPIRE, Graham has turned into a scene-stealer.
Sub-SCARFACE criminal underworld name-building runs alongside underwhelming love story/family redemption. Maybe it is budgetary constraints, but the texture of the era is not felt.
YARDIE seems pointless.
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