Can I get these ones?

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Movies of 2020...

#32 : County Lines

This hard-hitting British drama takes its cue from the grim news stories of cross-country drug courier gangs. Conrad Khan stars as the 14-year-old who becomes entangled in crime after a dysfunctional childhood and unhappy schooling.

Well, it's fair to say I wasn't expecting this to be a barrel of laughs - I think "hard-hitting" was probably the adjective I was most expecting to be using to describe it.

It basically follows Tyler through a series of generally pretty brief scenes as his life doesn't exactly go swimmingly well - you might possibly be able to guess what happens to him.  And to be honest, that's pretty much all I can tell you about it - you watch the film hoping for some hope at the end but knowing perfectly well that a hopeless outcome is probably more realistic.

So yeah, "hard-hitting" wouldn't be an inaccurate description.  It's also quite believable - at least to my not-exactly-on-the-streets sensibilities, but the director is a social worker who has worked with county lines kids, so you'd hope he knows what he's talking about.  The tension ratchets up very effectively throughout as all those concerned try with varying degrees to avoid the inevitable - and unfortunately you really don't expect the best for them.

The use of brief scenes is particularly effective in moving the story along briskly, although possibly too briskly towards the end - the film seems in a hurry to finish at times.  It's backed up by strong writing because although you don't spend a lot of time with most of the characters (except for Tyler) you feel like you get to understand them and their motivations.  The camerawork is also well done - there's an interesting mix of styles, angles and movement involved.

It's also very well-acted - I don't recognise any of the actors (although they have been in a few things I've seen, but generally somewhat less grim fare) but they all acquit themselves well, often playing exceedingly unlikeable characters.  And it's interesting how even though they're often very unpleasant, I still found myself invested in them, unlike in some other films I've suffered recently where I just didn't care what happens to some/all of the cast.  Conrad Khan fully deserves the plaudits he got for playing Tyler, but Ashley Madekwe as his mum and Harris Dickinson as Simon, the extremely sinister local dealer are also excellent.

Overall, it's definitely not a fun 90 minutes but it's a well-told and well-acted story.  You'd have to be in the mood for some social realism - but if you were, then I can certainly recommend this (although possibly not if you've got an uncommunicative teenage boy in the house).

At the time of writing, the film is available to rent at all the usual locations.

#33 - A stylish load of old nonsense
#31 - Another stylish load of old nonsense