Kidulthood, released in 2006, was in some ways a UK answer to Kids, the seminal mid-Nineties LA movie directed by Larry Clark - a day in the seemingly gruesome lives of a bunch of 15-year-olds, lives that revolve around violence, drugs, sex and despair. This, though, is west London, and not the rich west London of Notting Hill but Ladbroke Grove, geographically near but otherwise a world away from anything that Richard Curtis or Hugh Grant might recognise.
Now comes the sequel - Adulthood. It is set six years on and picks up the story of Sam Peel (played by Noel Clarke, the writerdirector), released from prison for manslaughter but finding freedom hard to adjust to. Like its predecessor, Adulthood, though gritty and provocative, has a moral centre - Sam must come to terms with the consequences of his actions on those around him, while confronting new realities on the street. A worthy entry in the expanding canon of British street-life movies.
Adulthood is out today, June 20.
