Mark isn’t taking it very easy on me for my return to writing. I mean, ‘County Lines’ (2019) is no way near as difficult to watch as ‘Antichrist’ (2009), but it still isn’t exactly the most fun of films to watch. That is the only characteristic those two films share, which is good for me and one of the reasons I wanted to do these ‘Kermode Introduces’ reviews. They give me the opportunity to see a range of films that I may not watch otherwise, and so far, I haven’t been let down by any of them. Today’s film was no different. The film follows Tyler (Conrad Khan), a teenager living in London with his mother and younger sister. On the poverty line, being bullied in school, and becoming more socially withdrawn, Tyler is soon coerced into becoming a drug mule who travels on the county line, and his involvement turns his life upside down.
This film is a debut feature for director Henry Blake. Before this, he had worked as a youth worker and based this film on his experiences of working with troubled teens, and this can be seen in the authentic feel of the film. It is a film that is held up on its writing and performances above the filmmaking. That is not to say it is a badly made film, not at all. But it is understated and subtle in how it is shot, allowing for the script and actors to really sell the emotion and grit of the film. We are often treated to static camera shots, holding on scenes without many edits. And even when the camera does move it is done so in a slow manner. And there are several times where we get long shots where we do not get all the information given to us, instead just implied moments that allow us to put the pieces together. This makes you feel like a fly on the wall throughout the film which adds a lot to the social-realist style of the film, giving it a somewhat documentary feel at times, which again pushes the authenticity of what the characters go through in this film. And all of this is sold wonderfully by the cast of actors, pretty much all of whom do a great job. But the real standouts are Conrad Khan as Tyler and Ashley Madekwe as his mother, Toni. Both put in completely believable and sympathetic performances, and they also have great chemistry which elevates the emotion of every scene the two are involved in with each other. They both give a lot in their roles and it pays off.
As I said in the introduction to this review, Mark Kermode has continued his impressive streak of only choosing films that I enjoy and so I don’t want my saying that this film probably lands somewhere in the middle of the pack of those films to sound like a bad thing. In fact, I did really enjoy this film. I was emotionally engaged, bought into the story, and I was never bored. But while I did enjoy the film, it also did feel a little like a film by a first-time director. Although the story feels authentic and the subtle direction does add to this, it also does not really offer anything that I haven’t seen before in films of this type, more it borrowed stylistically from the films that came before. Again, that isn’t inherently a bad thing, but it the film isn’t as strong as other British social-realism films, and the lack of ‘originality', for lack of a better word, makes me feel like this film may be forgotten behind some of the bigger hitters of the genre. One aspect of the film that I did appreciate was the ending. A lot of these kinds of films go for more melancholic endings to really hammer home the bleakness of the situation the characters are usually in. But this film decides to go for a much more optimistic ending, and it does help the film in my opinion. It isn’t a ‘and they all lived happily ever after’ type ending, and it manages to remain authentic to the rest of the films style and story, but it leaves you with hope as an audience member after the rest of the film having sucked that hope out of you.
‘County Lines’ is a solid debut feature that had me totally engaged and emotionally invested throughout. However, it also feels like it may very well get lost behind other similar British social-realist films in the next few years, which would be a shame even if it wouldn’t be that surprising. As good as it is, it doesn’t add anything to the genre you haven’t seen already. Fortunately, it is really well written and performed so it almost balances itself out. I would definitely recommend it, especially if you are into this style of films. It can be a little difficult to watch at times, but the optimistic ending makes it all worth it.
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