A few months ago I decided to read Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge. It was during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests and I decided to see some different perspectives. It was a brilliant book. It was so clear and concise. It was passionate and very informative, a really brilliant read. One of the first chapters was about Black British History. Very quickly I realised that I knew absolutely nothing about this. Each sentence provided me with new information about some of the shames within our country over the past couple of hundred years. These are brushed under the carpet in society and not talked about in schools where all of the history is very self-admiring. One of the stories that Eddo-Lodge wrote about was the events in Notting Hill, the events which this movie focuses on.

In 1960’s Notting Hill, Frank Crichlow (Shaun Parkes) opens up a restaurant. Unlike his previous establishment, the Rio, there is no illegal drugs or gambling, and it is a community hub for the West Indian to eat and socialise safely. However, the highly bigoted police, lead by PC Pulley (Sam Spurrel) are against this establishment, constantly raiding it with very little reason. This stops business and starts to build up resentment. There is a resistance lead by Altheia Jones (Letitia Wright), which starts with a protest march towards the police station, leading to some unrest. In the aftermath, nine people including Frank and Altheia are arrested, all to be put on trial. The trial takes up the second half of the movie.

The movie has a weird hybrid of TV and film to it. Smallaxe is an anthology of films by Steve McQueen (12 Years A Slave, Widows), so he may have been a bit constrained. It means the music and camera shots are all relatively standard and understated, compared to the cinematic grandeur we are used to. However, with the story being true, this doesn’t feel tonally too out of place. I notice it more as it’s the first TV drama I’ve watched in ages.

The first half of the film feels choppy in its nature to good effect. Any time anything seems calm, the police come and cause issues seemingly at random, building up this sense of anger and distrust within the characters and the audience at home. The second half is a court scene which examines the first half, showing the corruption within society goes straight to the top.

With a solid script in place, the movie is executed well mainly thanks to it fantastic performances. Shaun Parkes plays an unwilling protagonist brilliantly. Spurell gives you chills as the evil policeman. Letitia Wright, who is just amazing, absolutely dominates in this role. A loud proud activist who is well aware of the injustices around her, the plot almost seems to gravitate around her and she controls it fantastically.

The film is understated in its tone. The lead character Frank doesn’t lead as a revolutionary, more accepting that this is his life and it isn’t going to change. This quiet nuance reflects more sadly on the society the film reflects.

Summary

A solid film which remains thematically relevant today, the gritty tone and well acted humans you care about make this court drama a convincing and engaging watch about a side of British history not discussed enough. [Grade: B+]

Mangrove is available to watch on BBC IPlayer.