Direction: Sarah Gavron
Country: UK
The pungent third feature film from British director Sarah Gavron (Suffragette) feels authentic as it describes the struggle of a black teenage girl, Shola ‘Rocks’ Omotoso (newcomer Bukky Bakray), who is forced to take care of her little brother (D'angelou Osei Kissiedu) after their single mother has suddenly abandoned the household. The story, written by Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson, is set in East London, and besides the personal distress endured by the title character, it depicts the city’s cultural diversity with a honest look and vivid colors.
Having the British social services trying to locate her, Shola asks her best friend Sumaya (Kosar Ali) to stay at her place. Sometimes she has no other choice than put herself in bad situations in order to obtain what she needs, while on other occasions she becomes a victim of racial discrimination. With a similar ambivalence, there are circumstances in which she plays the responsible adult, while others show how immature and insolent she can be. Despite embracing the undeserved burden with guts, we mustn’t forget she’s a teenager after all.
Rocks is a sweeping and courageous coming-of-age tale filled with tense dramatic moments, pivoting on the realistic performances of a cast that makes these ordinary lives ring true.
It’s not always a smooth ride, but it’s richly humane. Luckily, there’s a satisfaction to be found in the optimistic finale, and you would have to be a real insensitive person not to be drawn in.
