Bullet Boy

Last updated

Bullet Boy
Bullet Boy FilmPoster.jpeg
Directed by Saul Dibb
Written bySaul Dibb
Catherine Johnson
Produced byMarc Boothe
Ruth Caleb
Michael Tait
Paul Hamann
Starring Ashley Walters
Luke Fraser
CinematographyMarcel Zyskind
Edited byJohn Mister
Masahiro Hirakubo
Music by Neil Davidge
Robert del Naja
Massive Attack
Production
companies
Verve Pictures
BBC Films
UK Film Council
Portman Films
Shine Limited
Distributed byVerve Pictures
Release dates
  • 15 September 2004 (2004-09-15)(Toronto International Film Festival)
  • 8 April 2005 (2005-04-08)
Running time
89 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Language English

Bullet Boy is a 2004 British crime drama film directed by Saul Dibb, written by Saul Dibb and Catherine Johnson, and stars Ashley Walters. The film's original music was composed and performed by Robert Del Naja of Massive Attack, who released it as an album. The film is about a family in crime-ridden Hackney, East London, the eldest son's involvement in gun crime, and the effects of this on his younger brother.

Contents

Plot

Upon being released from prison, Ricky (Ashley Walters) is collected by Wisdom, an eccentric and naive friend who is desperate to establish himself within their neighbourhood. Immediately after arriving back, Wisdom accidentally breaks a wing mirror off a car belonging to a local gang member. The following confrontation leads to Ricky pulling away Wisdom in an attempt to keep peace. Wisdom later returns a gun to Ricky, who stores it within his bedroom, which is shared with his younger brother Curtis who finds the weapon and hides it away for his brother himself.

Wisdom hunts down the gang member, named Godfrey, for spreading word that he does not want to fight, and to get revenge shoots the Staffordshire bull terrier which Godfrey used to threaten Wisdom during the earlier altercation. As a result, Godfrey and his associate destroy Wisdom's car with a baseball bat and drive past his home shouting that he is "dead." Knowing that Godfrey would soon kill him otherwise, Wisdom tries to kill Godfrey. However, he fails and is seen by Godfrey.

As the two flee from here, Curtis accidentally shoots his friend Rio when Rio suggests they take the gun out and play with it. Their mother when she next sees Ricky, asks him to go home, pack his belongings and leave whilst they are at church to give Curtis a chance to avoid the gang lifestyle.

Just before heading home, he goes to Wisdom's house to get the money Wisdom told him to take before he left, only to find Wisdom dead, presumably at the hands of his rival, he leaves after sitting there for a long time thinking. As he packs his bags, he asks Curtis to go to the takeaway and get a kebab, and when Curtis returns, his brother has already left. As Ricky is waiting at the train station, mysterious hooded figures are appearing and closing in around Ricky.

As Ricky is about to run away, Godfrey comes out and shoots him six times in the chest. His body is later identified, and the film ends with Curtis reclaiming the gun from where he hid it and throwing it into the river.

Cast

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s)Result
2004 British Independent Film Awards Most Promising Newcomer Ashley Walters Won
Douglas Hickox AwardSaul DibbNominated
Dinard British Film FestivalGolden Hitchcock Won
2005Emden International Film FestivalAward of the German Unions AssociationWon
2006 Evening Standard British Film Awards Most Promising NewcomerWon
London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award Nominated

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Valentine's Day Massacre</span> 1929 gang shooting in Chicago

The Saint Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang that occurred on Saint Valentine's Day 1929. The men were gathered at a Lincoln Park, Chicago garage on the morning of February 14, 1929. They were lined up against a wall and shot by four unknown assailants, two dressed as police officers.

<i>Boyz n the Hood</i> 1991 film directed by John Singleton

Boyz n the Hood is a 1991 American coming-of-age hood crime drama film written and directed by John Singleton in his feature directorial debut. It stars Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, Nia Long, Morris Chestnut, Tyra Ferrell, Laurence Fishburne, Regina King, and Angela Bassett. Boyz n the Hood follows Tre Styles, who is sent to live with his father Furious Styles (Fishburne) in South Central Los Angeles, surrounded by the neighborhood's booming gang culture. The film's title is a reference to the 1987 Eazy-E rap song of the same name, written by Ice Cube.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Walters (actor)</span> English actor and rapper (born 1982)

Ashley Anthony Walters, also known by his stage name Asher D, is a British actor and rapper. He first rose to fame as a member of the UK garage group So Solid Crew, which hit the top spot with their second single "21 Seconds".

<i>Big Jake</i> 1971 film

Big Jake is a 1971 American Technicolor Western film starring John Wayne, Richard Boone and Maureen O'Hara. The picture was the final film for George Sherman in a directing career of more than 30 years, and Maureen O'Hara's last film with John Wayne and her last before her twenty-year retirement. The supporting cast features Patrick Wayne, Christopher Mitchum, Glenn Corbett, Jim Davis, John Agar, Harry Carey Jr. and Hank Worden.

<i>Night Passage</i> (film) 1957 film by James Neilson

Night Passage is a 1957 American Western film directed by James Neilson and starring James Stewart and Audie Murphy.

<i>Sugar Hill</i> (1994 film) 1994 film

Sugar Hill is a 1994 American crime film directed by Leon Ichaso and written by Barry Michael Cooper. It stars Wesley Snipes and Michael Wright as brothers Roemello and Raynathan Skuggs. Considered the second film of Cooper's "Harlem Trilogy", it focuses on the two brothers who are major drug dealers in the New York City neighborhood of Harlem, specifically the namesake Sugar Hill.

<i>Shabri</i> 2011 Indian film

Shabri is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language action film directed by Lalit Marathe and produced by Ram Gopal Varma. It is about a woman, played by Ishaa Koppikar, who becomes the first female crime lady in Mumbai. The film was completed in 2005 and was showcased as the opening film at the Rome Film Festival, and was also premiered at the New York Asian Film Festival. The film was officially released worldwide on 26 August 2011.

Saul Dibb is an English director and screenwriter. His father is the documentary maker Mike Dibb.

<i>A Man Betrayed</i> (1936 film) 1936 American film by John H. Auer

A Man Betrayed is a 1936 American comedy crime drama film directed by John H. Auer and starring Edward J. Nugent, Kay Hughes and Lloyd Hughes. It was produced and distributed by Republic Pictures.

<i>Boy</i> (2010 film) 2010 New Zealand film

Boy is a 2010 New Zealand comedy-drama film, written and directed by Taika Waititi. The film stars James Rolleston, Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu, and Waititi. It is produced by Cliff Curtis, Ainsley Gardiner and Emanuel Michael and financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. In New Zealand, the film eclipsed previous records for a first week's box office takings for local production. Boy went on to become the highest-grossing New Zealand film at the local box office. The soundtrack to Boy features New Zealand artists such as The Phoenix Foundation, who previously provided music for Waititi's film Eagle vs Shark.

<i>Demons Never Die</i> 2011 British film

Demons Never Die is a 2011 British slasher film starring Robert Sheehan, Jennie Jacques, Jacob Anderson, Jason Maza, Emma Rigby, Ashley Walters, Reggie Yates and Tulisa Contostavlos.

<i>Top Boy</i> British television crime drama series

Top Boy is a British television crime drama series created and written by Ronan Bennett. The series is set on the fictional Summerhouse estate in the London Borough of Hackney and focuses on two drug dealers, Dushane and Sully, along with others involved with drug dealing and gang violence in London.

<i>The Gun</i> (1974 film) 1974 TV series or program

The Gun is a 1974 American thriller drama television film. It stars David Huffman, Ron Thompson, Richard Bright, Pepe Serna, Lee de Broux, and Stephen Elliott. It was written directly for television by Jay Benson, Richard Levinson, and William Link, and directed by John Badham, then a working director of television productions. Levinson and Link were also the producers of the film. It aired on ABC as a Movie of the Week on November 13, 1974.

<i>Get Rich or Die Tryin</i> (film) 2005 film directed by Jim Sheridan

Get Rich or Die Tryin' is a 2005 American crime drama film directed by Jim Sheridan and written by Terence Winter. It stars Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson in his feature film acting debut, alongside Terrence Howard, Joy Bryant, Bill Duke, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Omar Benson Miller, Ashley Walters and Viola Davis. The film, which contains autobiographical elements from 50 Cent's life, follows his character, Marcus Greer, a drug dealer who turns away from his criminal life to pursue his passion of rap music. The film's title is shared with 50 Cent's 2003 debut album of the same name.

<i>Brotherhood</i> (2016 film) 2017 film

Brotherhood is a 2016 British crime drama film written, produced and directed by Noel Clarke. It is the sequel to 2006's Kidulthood and 2008's Adulthood, and is the third and final instalment of The Hood Trilogy. It stars Clarke, Jason Maza, Arnold Oceng, Stormzy, Cornell John, David Ajala, Shanika Warren-Markland and Adjoa Andoh. Brotherhood follows Sam (Clarke), now a family man of two children, being driven back to his criminal lifestyle.

The Dalton Gang is a 1949 American Western film starring Don "Red" Barry and Julie Adams. It was directed by Ford Beebe.

<i>Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind</i> 1980 Hong Kong film

Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind is a 1980 Hong Kong crime film directed by Tsui Hark. The initial cut of the film was banned for its violence, generating public interest in the film that caused its edited version to become a box office success in Hong Kong.

<i>8MM Bullet</i> 2018 Indian Kannada-language film

8MM Bullet is a 2018 Kannada language crime thriller film directed by Harikrishna. It stars Vasishta N. Simha and Mayuri Kyatari. The film was a remake of Tamil film 8 Thottakkal (2017) which itself was loosely inspired by the 1949 Japanese movie Stray Dog.