Film Reviews

Life and Lyrics

• Rating:
• Director: Richard Laxton
• Starring: Ashley Walters
• Details: UK / 99mins (15s).

Life 'n' Lyrics had a few problems before they even started shooting: a fairytale that tries to 'keep it real' when 8 Mile and Hustle And Flow have already done the job and done it well. So what, apart from changing the setting to London, has Life And Lyrics got to offer that we haven't seen already? Not a hell of a lot, and they don't do themselves any favours by throwing in a little Romeo And Juliet to boost the love story element. The Motion Crew, a group of south London rappers led by DJ Danny Lewis (Walters), yearn for a record contract and a way out. Loyalty to his crew comes before family, but when Danny falls for Carmen (Rose), a member of his hated rivals The Money Crew, it kick starts a rap war between the two gangs. The young cast prove to be the winning aspect of this by-the-numbers plot despite the cold, superficial story, laden with characters that lack any real development or plausibility. The plot, already ripping off various films, is very stale and predictable, and even though they try to show us the tough, gritty, street-level lives of its protagonists, it all seems to be tackled from a safe distance - like the filmmakers heard about this kind of life and strung a film together without really getting down to the core of the story or the lives of the characters.

Review by Gavin Burke