DVD Review

Saul Dibb, Bullet Boy
(Image Entertainment)

The same day Ricky (Ash-
ley "Asher D" Walters, So
Solid Crew) exits prison, he scuffles with some Hackney rude boys. As the situation escalates, a gun enters the scene and the foreshadowing kicks into overdrive. Will he whack someone...or get whacked? Or will impressionable younger brother Curtis (Luke Fraser) pay for his crimes?

Documentarian Saul Dibb debuts with a gritty slice of social realism. The performances, mostly non-pro, feel authentic and
the East London slang lends verisimilitude (and, yes, a little inscrutability). Marketed as a British Boyz N the Hood, the friendship between Ricky and volatile "bruv" Wisdom (Leon Black) makes it more like a hip-hop cousin to Mean Streets. Neil Davidge and Robert Del Naja (Massive Attack) provide the ominous score.



Endnote: For the long version, please see the December is-
sue of Resonance. Image from the official Bullet Boy website.