ROCKS (Sarah Gavron, 2019): UK

Reviewed by Charlene Huston. Viewed at 2019 AFI Film Festival, Los Angeles.

Quite simply, this movie rocks and rolls for 93 minutes of amazing performances by a stellar ensemble cast led by Bukky Bakray as Shola (nickname “Rocks”) and her younger brother Emmanuel masterfully portrayed by D’angelou Osei Kissiedu .

I learned at the Q&A afterwards how this film came to be … the process is worth noting here, as it contributes to the whole in a way that is most profound.  Screenwriter, Theresa Ikoko spoke about how this story started out as a ‘love letter to her sister’ to express the limitless depth of love a sibling is capable of.

She connected with a group of girls from the streets of London and, once casting was complete, they put them all in a room together and placed large sheets of paper on the wall around them which contained the main story points the screenwriter had in mind.  Then, the Director, Sarah Gavron would say “imagine this …” and the girls would improvise.  Since many of the girls were not actresses, they brought a raw energy to the process and afterwards, each girl was given a pile of post-It notes and asked to write about their experience and then post them onto the wall.  The screenwriter took all those post-It notes and came up with a very intimate script.

It was a three year process from their street casting start to finish.  

Rocks is the nickname for the lead character who has her friend’s backs no matter what, until the tables turn and she needs them to have hers … she comes home from school one day to find her single mom gone, leaving behind only a note telling her to ‘take care of your little brother’.

The fact the Director spent years working in the criminal justice system in London before turning her energy and attention to filmmaking cannot be overlooked because it gave her the gravitas to deal with the heart-breaking system Shola and her younger brother, Emmanuel are ultimately thrust into.

The film has a raw energy, and a layered use of language between these girls who come from many different cultural and economic backgrounds.  It’s a coming of age story in a way … capturing the chaos of the tender years of puberty and the terrifying real world things that can happen when stability is suddenly pulled from under us.

We follow Rock’s spiral down showing the gritty truth of how important a cohesive family is and how tender and frought the path to loving can be.

Multiple shots of birds flying by … symbolizing the freedom of these girls taking flight towards their own futures.

This film creates a platform which can be used as a springboard to have a discussion about resiliency in the face of trouble and friendships that can stand the tests of trauma.  A beautiful, compassionate coming of age story and a portrait of girlhood.

Rocks has been nominated for awards at each of the four film festivals it’s played at so far: Zurich Film Festival (Golden Eye for Best International Feature Film ); Toronto International Film Festival (Platform Prize); Les Arcs European Film Festival (Crystal Arrow for Best Narrative Feature) and the San Sebastián International Film Festival (where she won the SIGNIS Award and was nominated for the Golden Seashell Best Film award).  Sarah Garvon is a Director to keep your eye on … especially considering Rocks is just her 3rd film.