The London metropolis that has become all too familiar in the work of Noel Clarke with his ‘HOOD trilogy hits home once again in the gritty social drama MY DAY, which debuted at Raindance 2019.
Ally (Hannah Laresa Smith) is a good-hearted, but troubled teen living on an East London estate, mixing with the lesser-than-good and trying her best to haggle with her local drug dealing contacts. The back alley-ways and by-ways of a world she seemingly seems desperate to get away from only bring her back to where she started from.
However, when she visits a paraplegic, Chris (Jonas Cemm), Ally is drugged, only coming round just as he is trying to have his wicked way with her.
She escapes and returns, but the complications of her predicament, coupled with the very tricky situation of avoiding contact with the police, heightens the tension that she feels in an already tight and tough social situation. In addition, a local Russian drug dealer wants the money from Ally’s potential sale with Chris – and refuses to compromise from his end….
Shot in stunning and often stylish Digital Black and White (by co-Cinematographers George Burt and Martyna Knitter – and in turn reminiscent of the award-winning camerawork that defined Michael Mann’s thriller COLLATERAL with Tom Cruise) director Ibrahim Miiro, working from a script he co-wrote with Shirley Day, makes a reasonable feature debut after a career in the Short Film arena, which captures the world of East London life with simplicity and style combined.
The driving force of the film is the lead central performance by the attractive and talented Hannah Laresa Smith as Ally in a performance that is sensitively handled and gives weight to a female-driven narrative in a similar vein to the performance of Katie Jarvis in FISH TANK.
She is backed up by a competent supporting cast, who evoke the right sense of emotional threat and focus that helps a film like MY DAY along. Hopefully, this will be just one role in which Smith can show her true range.
Fans of the classic BBC comedy series IT AIN’T HALF HOT MUM will be interested in seeing the film in light of a nice supporting performance from Mike Kinsey, who played Gunner ‘Nosher’ Evans in the show, which ran from 1974 – 1981 and was one of the most loved comedy shows of all time. Here he plays elderly widower Frank, who becomes an unlikely ally to Ally…
There is some dimension to the drama, referencing the police and the consequences of violence rather than contain it within the main characters. Whilst it is an overly-familiar storyline, the atmosphere and performances are the valid reason to see the film, which does have an opportunity to hit the right note when it hits screens subsequently through its’ desire to honour the social crime drama genre it taps into.
Indie British Crime Cinema is in safe hands here.
To learn more about MY DAY, click on the link below:
https://www.mydayfeaturefilm.com/
