Elba Makes Directorial Debut with Jamaican Coming-of-Age Drama
Dennis “D” Campbell (Aml Ameen) had the misfortune of growing up in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica in the Seventies at a time when the ‘hood was infested with drugs. Orphaned at an early age, he was raised by an older brother he admired, Jerry (Everaldo Creary).
Besides serving as a surrogate father, Jerry was a peacemaker who risked his life pressuring the gangs ruining the community to end their bloody turf war. But Dennis was left traumatized at 13 when his sibling was senselessly shot dead by Clancy (Raheem Edwards), a young member of the Tappa crew.
Fast forward a half-dozen years and we find D doing the bidding of King Fox (Sheldon Shepherd), the leader of Spicer, Tappa’s rival gang. When he is asked to smuggle a kilo of cocaine on a plane bound for London, he leaps at the opportunity because not only does Clancy live there now, but so too does Dennis’ daughter (Myla-Rae Hutchinson-Dunwell). So, the risky assignment will afford him an opportunity to avenge his brother’s murder while reuniting with loved ones.
That is the intriguing set up of Yardie, a coming-of-age drama marking the noteworthy directorial debut of Idris Elba. Adapted from Victor Headley’s 1992 novel of the same name, the film is narrated by its intrepid protagonist, a conflicted soul eternally torn between good and evil.
A gritty tale of survival slightly marred by a tendency to telegraph its punches.
Very Good (3 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 101 minutes
Production Companies: Warp Films / BFI Film Fund / Studio Canal
Distributor: Rialto Pictures
To see a trailer for Yardie, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qItW6evHbE8
Yardie (Unrated) Idris Elba makes his directorial debut with this adaptation of Victor Headley’s crime caper of the same name, set in the Seventies, about a young Jamaican (Aml Ameen) hired by a local drug kingpin (Sheldon Shepherd) to smuggle a shipment of cocaine to a British gangster (Stephen Graham) located in London. With Shantol Jackson, Fraser James and Akin Gazi.
