Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Kidulthood Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 19, 2008

Raw and littered with street jargon, "Kidulthood" (2006) follows the deeds of three West London teenagers as they struggle to find logic in the world around them. Attempting to be both objective and chic, pic is likely to resonate primarily with those who actually understand what the kids must cope with. Casual viewers beware, "Kidulthood" isn’t for the meek.

Trife (Aml Ameen), Jay (Adam Deacon) and Moony (Femi Oyeniran), cross paths with local bully Sam (Noel Clarke). Sam strikes first but the boys deliver a humiliating hit shortly after. Jay also claims Sam’s girlfriend Claire (Madeleine Fairley). Trife’s girlfriend Alisa (Red Madrell) has just found out that she is pregnant. She tells best friend Becky (Jamie Winstone) who takes her out shopping. In a matter of hours Trife, Jay, and Moony will test their friendship, Sam will get back at Jay, and Alisa and Becky will part ways.

Where kidulthood ends and adulthood begins

Sex, violence, and race are all key ingredients in Menhaj Huda’s Kidulthood, an unsettling look at teenage life in West London. Clearly influenced by the likes of Kids (1995), Trainspotting (1996), and L’esquive (2003) the film slowly erodes from being a hilarious trip into teenage street culture into an alarming dissection of a disillusioned generation with an unclear identity. Not surprisingly, the story is far more depressing than entertaining.

Furthermore, the rough terrain Kidulthood explores is hardly what viewers are accustomed to seeing in films about teenagers. It is brutal and dangerous, often to the point of making it unclear whether this is a slick gangster drama or, as claimed by the creators of the film, a realistic portrait of street life. The main characters are also hard to read as their actions often contradict their words. The second half of Kidulthood is where things really kick into high gear and the depressive tone Huda favors sets in permanently

The consistent pacing and strong energy the story sustains are responsible for the film’s effective tiptoeing between comedy and drama. Overused clichés about sex and race could have greatly diminished the appeal of Kidulthood but its creators have made sure that excessive moralistic preaching is kept at bay allowing the audience to figure on its own where the thin line between humor and tragedy is drawn. As a result Kidulthood preserves its rawness throughout without ending on an upbeat but unbelievable note.

The actual script is far from being perfect but the cast does a good job of making the most out of it. The kids are at their best when they stay away from attempting to recreate emotions they aren’t trained well to reveal (the most glaring example is Trife’s collapse during the violent scene in the middle of the second half of the film). Logically, their acting is mostly fresh, believable, and free of excessive posterizing.

The heavy-accent lingo in Kidulthood is without a doubt the most challenging aspect of this film (unfortunately the Blu-ray disc does not offer English subtitles either). It takes a while to really get used to the fast chatter and even then one is more than likely to miss a substantial portion of the dialog (Jay’s contribution probably being the main reason why). On a positive side, however, I found the colorful talk to be a great and very effective unsweetener during a few scenes where the script came dangerously close to imitating an MTV show (Real World).

Finally, Kidulthood boasts an intriguing soundtrack where fresh tunes from artists with a certain status amongst West London teenagers have done their best to add even more credibility to this controversial film. The beats and rhymes of Arkane, Skinnyman, Roots Manuva, Shystie, and Audio Bullys, amongst others, appear in key scenes where important statements are being made. Strangely enough, a lonely excerpt from Mozart’s famous “Clarinet Quartet in A” has also found its niche in Kidulthood.

Kidulthood Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC, and granted a 1080p transfer Kidulthood arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of UK-based Revolver Entertainment. The transfer for this fairly recent film looks very strong. Detail and clarity are very impressive and especially during some of the daylight scenes (or brightly lit mall scenes) the video approaches what I consider to be reference quality. The color scheme is also intact with blacks, reds, blues, and yellows looking natural and very convincing. I did not detect any DNR manipulations either – there is a healthy dose of film grain during a few specific scenes and the overall look of the film is balanced without artificial examples of the "popping" effect. The quality of the actual print is also impressive. In fact, the print is in an immaculate condition and I did not detect any specks, debris, or dirt. Finally, blown through a digital projector, the print reveals a very tight, solid, look which I believe will please a lot of people with high-end equipment. (Note: This is a region-free disc which you will be able to play in your Region-A machine. However, please note that it takes approximately 10 seconds for the player to access the main menu as there is a PAL-logo that precedes it).

Kidulthood Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this disc: English Dolby True HD 5.1 and English Stereo 2.0. Given the rich soundtrack Kidulthood boasts the Dolby True HD mix is more than welcome. And as far as I am concerned it definitely does not disappoint. The mix of ambient-downtempo tunes with hard R&B beats will surely impress those of you with serious audio systems as Kidulthood most definitely relies on a lot of diverse music to get its message across. The quality of the actual mix is more than pleasing – the rear channels are used a lot and in a very proficient manner. There is a good separation between dialog and music without any issues to report. Finally, I did not detect any hissing, pop-ups, or cracks. This being said, I must note that this Blu-ray disc does not offer any subtitle options. Which could be a serious issue for some! The West London accents in Kidulthood are very, very strong and I personally had a great deal of difficulty understanding some of the jargon the youngsters were using. I think that a dedicated English sub-file with films such as Kidulthood should be mandatory.

Kidulthood Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Revolver Entertainment have provided a good dose of supplemental materials for their first Blu-ray release. First there is a "Making Of" where you are given the opportunity to witness in action footage as Kidulthood is being shot. There are a few interesting comments by the cast as well. The "Behind the Scenes" segment provides an even better look at the production process and though I did not necessarily think that there is a lot more here that you would learn about the film seeing and hearing how everything was put together is nevertheless quite intriguing. Next, there is exclusive footage from the premiere for Kidulthood. There is also an exclusive premiere after-party footage where as you could guess there are plenty of smiles (and drinks). Finally, there is a music video by Skinnyman titled "Council Estate of Mind" as well as a bonus track by Arkane titled "Supo Mungam". (Note: Please keep in mind that all of the extras are in standard-def PAL so unless you have a TV capable of supporting the signal, or PC, you will not be able to access them on most US TV sets).

Kidulthood Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kidulthood is a controversial film to say the least. It delivers a very unsettling portrait of a generation which appears to be in a state of free falling. Yes, it is also vulgar and raw, but I don't believe that the streets of West London are any different. Technically the film looks quite strong and I am convinced it will resonate with the specific audience it targets convincingly. Revolver Entertainment's first Blu-ray release is of very high quality and I am enormously encouraged by what I have in my hands. I believe that we are in for some great treats from the UK distributor and I cannot wait to see what they have planned for 2009.