Reading one of many responses to Cornish's Attack The Block, the American site First Showing, while finding favour with the film, were unable to discern the voice of the film saying:
"...the language the gang has created for itself may not be the most coherent to understand fully. It's not necessary. "
Not necessary? This is one of the most genuine portrayals of inner city British youth since in a long time and is completely necessary. Joe Cornish gives the youth of our generation a real voice, where they transcend the fuckery that has been projected onto them by making them realistic heroes in a preposterous situation. It's brilliant. Joe Cornish is brilliant.
It is the forceful assimilation of Jodie Whittaker's character Sam and John Boyega's Moses and his crew that creates the real magic in the film. There are plenty of screams, blood and gore, which I was shocked at to be honest, I didn't know it was going to be the violent. I don't know what I was expecting to be honest, but I saw way more necks being ripped out than I had anticipated. I screamed a lot and jumped alot, but all of that was peripheral; the real story is in Sam and Moses.
Let me take you deep.
To me Sam represents the middle and upper classes of Britain, Moses represents the working classes and throughout this film they realise that they need to work together to defeat this common enemy. Similarly in Britain, the whole country needs to work together to achieve our aims and stop thinking that anyone is better than anyone else. Both Sam and Moses want to live and they will do anything to make that happen, even ignore the anger they feel towards one another and direct towards these monsters who are trying to destroy them. It's genuinely riveting material.
Moses advances at one stage in the film and becomes more than a mere inner city "yout" evolving into an almost biblical manifestation of his name, leading his people to the promised land and out of the claws of these horrifying aliens. The casting is dazzling. John Boyega is strikingly handsome, embodying this able leader. Luke Treadaway and Nick Frost had me bent up in stitches. Franz Drameh, Alex Esmail and the whole of Moses' crew just need an award.
There was, however one scene that I felt that Cornish was using to make sure white audiences were still awake. The awkward scene between Nick Frost and Luke Treadaway sat uncomfortably with me, but in the bigger picture it doesn't really matter because the film is so brilliant. Have I said that enough times? Look, I'm a big fan of British cinema and this film honestly restores my faith in our ability to make kickass films!
There is a fearlessness in South London that is captured so wonderfully. And also a fearfulness from those not clued into the idiosyncrasies of inner city life that Cornish illustrates so perfectly, I can't wait to watch it again and again and again. But not in Peckham Multiplex. It was dirty.
9/10