With an opening shot of our protagonist hanging out in a group of 6, with the Gherkin and the city in the background, we get an immediate look into the stark differences that London can offer. It can offer wealth and fortune for some, but poverty and hardship for others, such as many young people in East London. But what it does offer those without much is a real sense of community. It’s that community which makes Rocks such an endearing watch.

Rocks (Bukky Bakray) is an average teenage girl, she goes to school, has fun with her friends and she loves her younger brother, Emmanuel. When her mother leaves, saying she needs time to clear her head, Rocks assumes it will just be a day or two again, however as the days turn into weeks, she starts to struggle keeping under the radar, looking after her brother and not making enemies.

It would be easy and somewhat lazy to compare this film to “Girlhood”. It is quite like the brilliant “Nobody Knows” (A film you should watch on BFI Player) where Rocks is in this unforgiving world, but it has the sense of community of “Shoplifters” with a bit of the “I Wish” magic. To many of you, I know those films won’t mean much, but they’re all by my favourite director, so if I’m saying the film reminds me of them, it’s basically a big old compliment.

The film took a while to get me invested. I was enjoying it enough, but once I was engaged, for the last half an hour, I was fully into it. This will no doubt have been a result of Bukky Barkay’s debut performance which showed warmth. Each character felt real and was charming. I smiled at the dialogue constantly throughout.

The tone of the film felt very real and grounded. No trippy soundtracks or crazy camera movements. At times, it almost felt rather documentary. This authenticity is only more apparent when you realise the characters and scripts were developed through the writers having workshops with a variety of East London teenagers. The film itself was written as a tribute to an older sister who looked after one of the writers in a similar situation.

Summary

Rocks provides a fantastic authentic look at teenage life in a tough environment. A fun diverse cast and a script full of heart really allow for this film to remain grounded and provide an engaging story with great characters. [Grade: B+]