Blue Story is a 2019 British crime drama film written, directed, and narrated by Rapman through the medium of rap. The film is Rapman's feature directorial debut and is based on his 2014 YouTube series of the same name, based on true events. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 22 November 2019.
Premise
Blue Story is the tragic tale of best friends Marco and Timmy who, from different areas of London, find themselves becoming enemies in a violent and insidious postcode war. Blue Story is based around events of Rapman's own personal experiences growing up in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham, and being sent to in Peckham, in the London Borough of Southwark, thereby crossing gang-affiliated borders. The film depicts real life gangs Peckham Boys and Ghetto Boys.
Plot
Marco and Timmy are best friends. One evening, Marco is attacked by a gang who break his right arm. Timmy notices the following morning but Marco feels let down by him, especially since the man who broke his arm was someone Timmy knew. Leah's intervention causes Marco to mock Timmy and Leah. Timmy decides to leave and Marco insults Leah leading to a fight stopped when Timmy knocks Marco to the ground, blacking his eye. Marco takes revenge by ambushing Timmy leading to a fight that Leah tries to break up. She is slapped and falls to the ground unconscious. She does not survive the injury. Timmy is knocked out with a brick. Three years later, Timmy seeks revenge. He joins Madder's gang and attacks Marco after he leaves a pub. Madder advances towards Timmy encouraging the beating but is knocked out with a baseball bat by Switcher. Timmy stabs Switcher, who is then forced to move around in a wheelchair. By phone, Marco vows that he will find Timmy and kill him. Timmy is at last trapped in a van which has been surrounded by gasoline when Marco remembers their friendship. He also remembers what happened to his elder brother and so sets the van on fire intoxicating Timmy.Madder, who has survived a gunfight with Killy, who set Timmy up due to jealousy, retrieves the unconscious Timmy and is taken away by a policeman. Marco is arrested a few days later. His arrest causes Switcher to commit suicide.
Rapman and BBC Films developed and co-financed the film, and in late 2018 Paramount Pictures bought worldwide distribution rights for the film. Damian Jones and Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor produced the film with Rose Garnett and Eva Yates of BBC Films; Charles Moore and Paul Grindey of Viewfinder, and Rapman were executive producers. Principal photography took place on 28 February 2019. Rapman's previous work includes the YouTube trilogy Shiro's Story. The film had a budget of £1.3 million and was primarily shot in the London Borough of Enfield after Lewisham and other London boroughs refused to allow shooting, due to instructions from the office of the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, although the director says no one at the mayor's office had actually read the script.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 91%, based on 34 reviews, with an average rating of 7.01/10. The website's consensus reads, "Raw and riveting, Blue Story overcomes its somewhat prosaic story with powerful performances and an impressive clarity of purpose." Mike McCahill of The Guardian gave the film 3/5 and called it "An assured and capably performed morality play." BBC Films say the film "powerfully depicts the futility of gang violence".
Awards and recognition
The film was short-listed alongside nine other films by British Academy of Film and Television Arts for the category of outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer but did not make it in the final nominations. Micheal Ward has won the EE BAFTA Rising Star award.
Birmingham machete incident
On 23 November 2019, The Independent reported that during a screening of Blue Story at Star City in Birmingham, England, police were attacked by a group armed with machetes. Police arrested five teenagers. Families were watching Frozen II when the disorder broke out, sparking an evacuation of the Star City complex, with police stating up to 100 teenagers were involved in the major disorder. A spokesperson for West Midlands Police stated that "Dozens of officers were sent to the complex after a 999 call just after 5.30pm reporting a group of youths with machetes. Two machetes were seized during the trouble, which saw pockets of fighting and seven police officers left with minor injuries as they dealt with the crowds in and around the cinema." On 24 November 2019, West Midlands Police reported that a sixth teenager had been added to those arrested, which had included a female aged 13, a male and female both aged 14 and a 19-year-old man. Following the disorder at Star City, the Vue Cinemas chain cancelled all screenings of Blue Story. A statement from Vue said that during the first 24 hours of the film more than 25 significant incidents were reported and escalated to senior management in 16 separate cinemas. Cinema chain Showcase subsequently also ceased showing the film, but the Odeon and Cineworld chains continued to screen it. The ban by Showcase and Vue was labelled as racist by some people on social media, with Showcase later reversing their decision. The film's director Rapman also questioned the reasons behind the ban. Vue also said they would re-start showings, with increased security.
