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ACTOR
Wil JohnsonStuart LaingMark LetherenAmelia Curtis
DIRECTOR
Richard Parry
SYNOPSICS
South West 9 (2001) is a English movie. Richard Parry has directed this movie. Wil Johnson,Stuart Laing,Mark Letheren,Amelia Curtis are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2001. South West 9 (2001) is considered one of the best Drama movie in India and around the world.
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South West 9 (2001) Reviews
Oh dear...
Where do you start with a film like this? I'll try to be nice. Theres a few good ideas flying around here. The use of archive material is quite effective. Some of the cinematography is nice. Erm, the music's ok. As a whole though, its a failure. I wasn't expecting a lot - I rented this film purely because I live in the area portrayed. And thank god I do, as for the large part it was only being able to go 'oh look, thats suchandsuch street' that kept me viewing. And even then I almost turned it off before the end. So whats so wrong here? First and foremost, the script. Its appalling. Character, plot, atmosphere, everything is sacrificed to a woefully misguided attempt to be cool. Every single character speaks in an immensely irritating 'street' style that utterly fails to ring true. The setting is a failed attempt to create a disperate group of 'crazy' characters around a 'cool' location. With good writing and charismatic acting this kind of thing can work (eg 'trainspotting'). For an example of how this could have been done in Brixton, check out 'Milk, Sulphate and Alby Stavation', a novel by Martin Millar. Set in Brixton, and more 'far out' than anything here, yet it still rings far truer. The plot is poorly conceived, and eventually disintegrates into characters moving seemingly at random from one location to another. Eventually some plastic cockney gangsters turn up as the filmmakers throw some Guy Ritchie into the mix in the hope that it will impress someone. Although it's not neccessarily a bad thing for a film to fail to resemble real life, the postcode title and archive news material would suggest that the filmmakers are attempting to reflect the real brixton here. Once again, they fail. The real Brixton does have its fair share of (mostly self-proclaimed) funky scenesters, but they're hard to spot among the desperate drug addicts, pushy dealers, aggresive petty criminals and put-upon locals trying to keep their head down and get through the day unscathed. To make a film about this region which either ignores or glamourises the overwhelming social problems present is ridiculous and irresponsible. If the film is intended as fantasy, then why tie it to a real place and a real history? In the end though, I would happily overlooked all this if the film had entertained. Although the start is fairly promising, boredom soon sets in, followed by disbelief. How some other reviewers found this film enjoyable is hard to understand, although the fact that most of them mention drugs in their reviews perhaps goes some way towards explaining. If you're a teenage male who thinks drugs are really really cool then you might get something out of this mess, but even then I'd imagine you'll be waiting for it to end by about halfway in. To sum up - this film tries far too hard, and fails at virtually everything it tries.
Not such a bitter pill to swallow.
Set chiefly in squalid locations - squats, hang-outs, and semi-derelict buildings - and featuring a cast of pushers, crusties and skammers, SW9 is concerned to show how the drug culture can be equally alluring to parents, professionals and religious figures - with 'respectable' family or professional backgrounds. Archive and media footage is used to paint a great picture of the colour and cultural history of a particular part of South London, and to reinforce the film-makers' concern with British and international political issues. I enjoyed the restraint and narrative pace of the film and I particularly loved the twist whereby we discover something about a character we might have taken for granted.
One of the better films about the London underground dance scene
This is a good movie. In spite of what some IMDB users have said, I find the characters all totally believable. And I am both involved in putting on underground parties in London, and spend most of my clubbing time in and around Brixton. Hats off to the casting and to one or two of the actors. It is Mark Letheren ("Mitch") who steals the show for me. Spending most of the film 'totally off his tits' on LSD after an accidental dosage, his acting is worthy of awards. Without giving too much of the story away, it is about six different characters: an Essex scammer who is trying to organise a clubnight in a church in Brixton (called "Faith", clearly a reference to Mass, which is a real-life club in a church in Brixton); his mate Mitch, rather more naive than the former character but totally likeable, in fact probably the nicest character in the whole film; a black businesswoman who works in an investment bank and who has a big secret; a young girl (played very realistically by Amelia Curtis) who lives in a squat and works behind the bar in the Dog Bar (clearly another reference to a Brixton drinking hole, the "Dog Star"); the young black guy who's the nephew of the church owner, and who is perhaps the less convincing of the actors chosen for the various roles; and finally the former National Front member who is trying to shake off the last traces of his shameful past, wishing to integrate fully with the afro-Caribbean community where he lives and has grown to love. Whilst some things don't ring all that true (in any club, if someone is lying on the ground they will be surrounded by other clubbers trying to help), the film is pretty accurate. The squat scene (surely based on the famous Cooltan squat) is particularly inch-perfect in its detail. I am referring to the squat where Kat and the others live, rather than the Smoke House. People who know Brixton will love it... every single house and street seems instantly recognisable... Electric Avenue, the Peace Park, Coldharbour Lane, Loughborough Road, Atlantic Avenue... fascinating and fun. But more importantly, they'll recognise all the character types, or even themselves, in the cast. The music is good (although perhaps not enough, but it is a sufficiently accurate depiction of the underground acid trance squat scene), and anyone who shares any antiglobalisation anticapitalist views and has been on Reclaim the Streets marches will also particularly love it. The anarchists are well depicted, accurately, not stereotypes. But if this is not your scene, don't let that put you off. You'll still enjoy the film, it just won't mean as much to you. I wouldn't say it's a particularly feelgood movie, although there are some very amusing moments. The ending is a little sad and, perhaps, frustrating, but it is probably more realistic for that reason. It's not a downer, however. If you get the DVD, watch the deleted scenes (well worth watching, what a shame they were deleted!) and the Story of the Filming. The latter is particularly good, showing the trials of tribulations of the cast, particularly Becky Bligh (who co-ordinated the street scenes). Entertaining stuff. Among the extra hidden features ('easter eggs') there are some short films. Be careful with your mental state when watching Short Film #3, about a bad time on drugs... it's depressing and disturbing. The main feature though, "South West 9", is relatively non-judgemental about drugs and is perfectly viewable. Hats off to the tagline writer too. "No ordinary day trip", very droll indeed. On the -4 to +4 scale, I give this a +2.
you would have to be off your head to miss it
From the makers of Human traffic comes its arguably superior accompaniment. SW9 like human traffic has a plot evolving round drugs and club culture, but this time it is accompanied by a more advanced plot, and better characterisation. This film will not leave you grinning from ear to ear and grabbing for your pills, but it is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat. SW9 gives a honest and uncompromising view of the pros and cons of inner city life, which has rarely been conveyed on film before. This has got everything you need to keep you entertained for a couple of hours; humour, tragedy, and a clever plot, all to the sound of a banging sound track, from super star Dj Dave Pearce. Who needs big budget Hollywood movies, when the British are producing movies this good!
An overlooked film
I had never heard of South West 9 before, and bought it last week after I heard Stephen Lord was in it (one of my favorite actors, he has a small role but he's the best!) as it was only £1.80 from Amazon I was surprised to find a decent film - certainly better than many Hollywood and even British films released recently. I don't know why its such an unknown film. The plot is fairly straightforward, although some of the flashback sequences are rather annoying. The characters, although not likable are interesting and u still feel for them. There are a lot of drugs in the film, but not glamorised or shown judgmentally. I'd recommend this film to anyone - its entertaining and, I think rewatchable. xx