A Way of Life (2004)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Amma Asante

Writer:

Amma Asante (writer)

Release Date:

12 November 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

In the real world there are no happy endings

Plot Keywords:

Male Nudity | Social Worker | Single Mother | Vandalism | Racism

Awards:

9 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Stephanie James	...	Leigh-Anne Williams
Gary Sheppeard	...	Robbie Matthews
Nathan Jones	...	Gavin Williams
Dean Wong	...	Stephen Rajan
Sara Gregory	...	Julie Osman
Oliver Haden	...	Hassan Osman
Brenda Blethyn	...	Annette
Eli Williams	...	Rebecca Williams
Darcy Williams	...	Rebecca Williams
Lynsey Richards	...	Helen
Victoria Pugh	...	Social Worker
Amy Morgan	...	Karen Williams
Gareth Gethyn Evans	...	Evin
Philip Howe	...	Jacob
Ri Richards	...	Brenda Williams

Runtime:

91 min | Argentina:93 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Brazil:14 | Australia:MA | UK:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales, UK

Company:

AWOL Films Ltd.

Soundtrack:

Body Parts

Remarkable film debut

A Way of Life is an extraordinary and disturbing film.It seems scarcely credible that the director is making her debut and the performances of the largely unknown cast so powerful and totally convincing.I would feel confident in asserting,for example, that the performance of Stephanie James in the central role of Leigh-Anne will stand comparison with those who will be honoured at the Oscar ceremony next month.Her portrayal of an attractive and intelligent young woman smouldering with racial hatred and frustration is one that will live in the memory .It is a film that gets under your skin and forces you to ask yourself some fundamental questions.How did these young people get to be the way they are? Is the connection between poverty and deprivation on the one hand and violence and cruelty on the other too facile,although it should be said that the film itself makes no such facile connection.The whole thing is unsettling and uncomfortable and you cannot take your eyes from the unfolding tragedy. By chance I had seen Clint Eastwood's accomplished Million Dollar Baby a couple of days before.Of the latter The Guardian's film critic,Peter Bradshaw, rightly remarked that,three-quarters of the way through, it delivers to the audience a right hook like Jack Dempsey.A Way of Life delivers a barrage of right and left hooks that leave one bruised and soul-searching as one emerges from the cinema.