YOUNG SOUL REBELS

This film wants to be several things at once: a portrait of late-1970s punk culture, a story about two young Black Englishmen, a murder mystery, and a study of social tensions. The result is confusing, with several plot strands left dangling.

It does offer engaging characters and a subtle look at London street life, where tensions hover near violence. But those strengths are overwhelmed by sexual immorality and homosexual intimacy, including a scene with two men in bed, along with substantial obscenity.

The practical answer is simple: skip it.

In late-1970s England, childhood friends Chris and Caz operate Soul Patrol, a nighttime music station broadcasting funk records. Chris is heterosexual, slightly effeminate and mulatto; Caz is macho, Black and homosexual.

Their world includes soul brothers and sisters, punks, disco crowds and skinheads, all moving through an interracial dance club called the Crypt. After their friend T.J. is murdered, Chris discovers a tape that may contain the killer’s voice—and is arrested when police find it in his possession.

One star means the film has too little control or coherence to overcome its problems. The movie tries to do too much, leaving several plot strands unresolved and creating confusion.

Still, it achieves a subtle analysis of divisions in London society through scenes of local street life. Chris and Caz emerge as engaging, believable people with real dilemmas, and Chris’s courtship of Tracy is awkward yet refreshing before the relationship turns sexual.

The film presents a world of punk culture, sexual experimentation and competing social groups. Its perspective on late-1970s punk culture is Black-oriented, and it portrays an interracial, sexually permissive dance club alongside punks, disco crowds and skinheads. It also depicts racial harassment by police, showing Chris remaining imprisoned in other ways by his passions, lusts and worldly goals.

The film’s characters are portrayed as aimless and lost, and its sexual relationships are treated as part of that disordered world. The review specifically objects to the relationship’s turn to fornication and to the depiction of homosexual intimacy. In contrast, Scripture presents two paths and calls people away from destruction toward life: “Enter by the narrow gate” (Matthew 7:13).

This film has a few engaging characters and perceptive social observations, but its confused plot and excessive sexual content make it a poor choice. For your family or your own viewing, SKIP IT. Consider these alternatives instead: