Sket (2012)

hyped garbage

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Absolutely Fantastic

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

For those who care, a 'sket' is a slang word for a young woman who sleeps around and is a bit... rough for all intents and purposes. So, now you know.The plot revolves around a Geordie lass who's recently moved to London, and her exploits with a girl gang she joins, mainly so they can help her get revenge on the drug dealer who killed her sister. You wouldn't think this by reading the back of the box though... which references no-one but bit-part-player Ashley Walters (From So Solid Crew and Kidulthood) and makes it out to be a very different film. There's marketing, and then there's blatant lies.What a grimy, depressing place inner city London looks. Rubbish everywhere, rundown buildings and yobs lurking behind every corner. Something tells me they didn't have to make much of an effort with the set decoration for the atmosphere they wanted. What transpires in this place where life is cheaper than a bag of crack, is nothing new or interesting. The acting is okay, the story is seen-it-all-before, and the obnoxious wall-to-wall rap songs nothing short of a headache.I have little else to add. What the makers have done is taken segments from every 'street' drama set in our capital city ever made, washed, rinsed, hung them out to dry, then stuck them together and try to pass it off as something new. Sorry folks... it didn't work. 5/10

One of the reasons I despise EASTENDERS is that it's a politically correct BBC wish fulfillment fantasy made by the chattering classes . For example every black character must be a positive role model which means any character who is a violent psychotic wife beater called Trevor must have a Scottish accent . This means that anyone who is talented and black and in possession of a British Equitity card must relocate to America if they want to play a multi layered character who is on the wrong side of the law . Think Eamonn Walker and Idris Elba to name but two black British actors who hit the big time stateside . After seeing SKET all I can say is we should sometimes be thankful for the PC nonsense the BBC often serves up to us . I now almost look forward to seeing Paterson Joseph playing a Mandela type character in Walford You'd be forgiven for thinking this low budget movie called SKET was a call to arms by the more right wing elements of The Daily Mail readership . The characters are so deeply unpleasant you might think the makers are setting an agenda to galvanize the great British public in to setting up state run fascist death squads that are still popular in some Latin American countries . I was genuinely shocked that many of the names behind the scenes didn't have traditional sounding British names because watching SKET I thought it might be some sort of UKIP equivalent of a Nazi propaganda film , a sort of THE ETERNAL CHAV . There's no sense of irony however and worse still there is zero entertainment in watching it . One should always be on guard about the ruling class making films featuring the lumpen proletariat because they're wasting their money , wasting the audiences time and helping to bury the British film industry .You can tell the production team are out of their depth and feel the need to patronize the audience . Stick in a drum and bass soundtrack that will instantly give a real sense of time and place innit bruv for real ? No it won't . Despite their numerous flaws the working class aren't stupid and we're not going to be patronized by middle class posh boys who have led very sheltered lives . As has been pointed out a gang of four girls beating up a couple of blokes on a bus is ridiculous and doesn't ring true . None of this film rings true but some scenes go beyond ridiculous such as a character being so drunk that she has to stagger to the toilet to vomit but literally a minute later she is able to outrun a character chasing her . There's also several scenes where someone just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in order for the story to progress in to yet another contrived and under developed plot turn . The cast are the usual young team straight out of drama school who over egg the pudding with their chav mannerisms with the only exception being Ashley Walters as Trey who is so despicable you're tempted to switch as soon as he appears on screen . Anyone who watches this awful , badly made film from start to finish is deserving of some sort of valour award . The Order Of Lenin perhaps ? Lenin would have shot the makers of SKET but regardless of your politics you'll feel like carrying out your own summary executions of the production team if you're unfortunate enough to see this movie

Growing up in London I know full well the lifestyles of many depicted in this cinematic experience. But as I get older these hood films become more harder to watch. Ashley Walters proves his diversity from previous leading roles in Bullet Boy and Sugarhouse, that he can be a convincing antagonist. Not to drift off topic from the movie itself, but I feel that since the release of Kidulthood there seems to be a trend with these gritty street flicks throughout the past decade.With that being said this flips the script with the majority of the female cast showing the unfortunate lives of young women in Britain. It's a shame that the events that take place in this storyline aren't that far-fetched from the reality we are surrounded by worldwide.It's honest in its depiction of bullying, drug addiction and sex labour whilst providing a cleverly told plot with a soundtrack mirroring the visual anarchy. Recommend for those with a strong stomach, not that there's any gore in this picture..but it will challenge your ideals of a peaceful world.

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning Kayla (Aimee Kelly) has moved with her older sister from Newcastle to a rough area of South London after the death of their mother. After finding herself hassled on the top deck of a bus by a couple of lads, a rough girl gang at the back, lead by Hannah (Lily Loveless) come to her aid. Needing new friends and naturally wanting to belong, Hannah tries to fall in with this group after completing an initiation. However, when her sister is brutally murdered by vicious local gang lord Trey (Ashley Walters) it sets her on her own course of retribution that could have deadly consequences.On the surface, Sket does everything it says on the tin. It sets out to tell a very unpleasant, depressing story, shot in as drained and grainy a way as it can, with nothing in the way of humour or light (save for an unintentional gut buster in which a portly henchman gives chase to Hannah only to comically run out of breath) with an obligatory pumping urban grime soundtrack blasting over it all, and this is exactly what it does. To criticise it for this would be akin to criticising the pope for being catholic. Sadly, Nirpal Bhogal's latest addition to the ever increasing 'chav' film staple from the Revolver Entertainment chain line that's been doing the rounds since Kidulthood can be complained about for more things than this.It's got all the superficial stuff right, sadly the stuff under the surface lets the film down, with some very poorly written, unconvincing character development and a flimsy, weak story that fails to properly develop into anything and is equally poorly written. Running at under an hour and a half, it's run out of steam long before it's over. Kelly's lead character fails to convince as a shy girl who suddenly turns into a hard nut, even after her sister's killed, while Walters's constantly angry, aggressive villain is really no great stretch for him.It's a shame, since if this had just been a bit better written, it could have really delivered all it's raw, unflinching potential. **