Blue Story

Blue Story is the tragic tale of best friends Marco and Timmy who, from different areas of London (Peckham and Deptford), 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 [6] in Deptford, in the London Borough of Lewisham, and being sent to Peckham, in the London Borough of Southwark, thereby crossing gang-affiliated borders.[1] The film depicts real life gangs Peckham Boys and Ghetto Boys.

Timmy, a boy who is just leaving primary school, lives in Deptford. His mother tells him he is going to go to secondary school in Peckham; largely because it is a good school, but also because she's scared of the influence of Timmy's best friend from primary school, Kiron, who is a troublemaker. At the school in Peckham; Timmy makes three friends; Hakeem, Dwayne and Marco.

Five years later, Timmy is in love with a girl called Leah. Timmy, his friends and Leah are all invited to a party. He is reluctant to go at first, but when he finds out that Leah is going, he decides to go.

Meanwhile, in Deptford, the Ghetto Boys (which include Gallis and Madder) are attacked on home ground by the Peckham Boys, forcing the Ghetto Boys to retreat.

While Timmy and his friends are shopping, he spots Leah and her friend and he and Hakeem chase after her. The four are then confronted by two Peckham Boys, one of which being Skitzer. Finding out that Timmy is from Deptford, they accuse him of being a Ghetto Boy. They pull a knife on Timmy, but Marco intervenes. Skitzer and his accomplice back down and apologise, noticing that Marco is the younger brother of the Peckham Boys' leader, Switcher. Later on, whilst shopping, Timmy and Marco bump into Kiron now called Killy. They reconcile, but Killy notices that he recognises Marco from somewhere. Meanwhile, back in Deptford, the Peckham Boys have posted a video online showing the Ghetto Boys retreating on their own ground, which humiliates Mada and Gallis. Despite reluctance from some members of the gang, Gallis and Madder prepare to launch an attack on the Peckham Boys in Peckham.

Marco returns home from Timmy's house to see his brother, Switcher. They begin to watch a film, but Switcher gets a phone call from Skitzer, who tells him that the Ghetto Boys are about to attack Peckham. Switcher leaves Marco and goes to Peckham. A gunfight breaks out between the two gangs, and Switcher shoots and kills Gallis. Fearing arrest from the approaching police, Madder is forced to flee and leave Gallis to die. Switcher burns his clothes and returns home to Marco and asks him to provide him with an alibi.

Marco, Timmy, Dwayne and Hakeem travel to the party, initially jealous at first of her dancing with other boys. Timmy and Leah end up slow dancing. However, it is interrupted when Marco and another boy get into a fight. Timmy leaves Leah to back Marco up and the party ends. The police storm into Marco and Switcher's house and arrest Switcher. However, they let him go as they have no evidence against him. Timmy and Leah plan to watch the last season of Game of Thrones together at Timmy's house. There, they both kiss and have sex. Meanwhile, Marco runs into Killy; Killy and his friends beat up Marco and break his arm.

The following Monday, Timmy notes to Leah that Marco has not been answering his calls during the weekend. Timmy confronts Marco, who accuses Killy of being Timmy's best friend and says that Timmy is a snake, when Timmy is unable to give Marco Killy's address, because he doesn't know it. Marco calls Leah a whore, making her push him. Marco slaps her, so Timmy hits Marco. Switcher tells Marco that Timmy will not get away with this.

Three months later, Leah and Timmy are still together, but Marco, Hakeem and Dwayne are all distant from Timmy. Timmy and Leah celebrate their three-month anniversary; however, whilst waiting for Leah, Timmy is attacked by a gang. Leah tries to intervene but one of the gang members hits Leah so hard that she falls to the ground and dies. They hold Timmy up and the same gang member hits Timmy on the head with a brick. As Timmy falls to the ground, the gang member is revealed to be Marco. Marco is charged with manslaughter for Leah's death.

Three years later, Timmy and Killy have reconciled and have now joined the Ghetto Boys, with Timmy being Madder’s younger sidekick, and Marco is now out of prison. There is a fan of Madder’s younger than Timmy who Timmy encourages that performs, records and podcasts music calling himself Tiny Madder. Timmy confronts Hakeem, who he suspects of being one of the gang members who attacked him three years ago. Hakeem denies it, but when he tells Timmy to forgive Marco, Timmy refuses. Late at night, Marco confesses to Switcher his deep regret for killing Leah, saying he struggles to sleep.

Killy finds out where Marco is, and Madder and Timmy go there and manage to surprise him. Timmy beats up Marco and Madder is hit over the head with a baseball bat by Switcher. When Switcher gets his gun out to kill a now unconscious Madder, Timmy stabs him. He tries to shoot Marco, but the gun jams, which gives Marco an opportunity to run away. The police arrive, and Killy, Madder and Timmy manage to escape.

At the hospital, Switcher is told he will never walk again. He solely blames Marco, saying Marco failed to have his back. Marco becomes distraught and storms out of the hospital. He phones Timmy and tells him he is going to kill him. Switcher is visited by his cousin Tyrone, a gang member from Tottenham, who tells the Peckham Boys that every gang has a weak member, and they just need to wait for the Ghetto Boys to reveal theirs.

Madder and Killy want to go to Peckham to attack the Peckham Boys, but Timmy disagrees as this feud has been highly publicised, and he thinks they will all get arrested. All the other gang members side with Timmy over Madder, who accuses Timmy of being too big for his boots, and calls Leah a whore. A fight is broken up and both storm off.

That night, Madder apologises to Timmy, and says Killy has the jump on Marco. Killy and Madder get in the front of their van and Timmy gets in the back. They drive to find Madder’s hidden weapon in the forest, which Madder notices is missing. Killy, who is joined by Tyrone, then reveals that he has the gun, and has betrayed Madder and Timmy. He claims that Madder treated Timmy better than him and that he was supposed to be Madder’s younger sidekick. Meanwhile, Timmy is trapped in the van, which Marco douses with petrol. He initially hesitates about setting fire to the van, but decides to set the van alight anyway. Madder and Killy struggle for Tyrone's gun, resulting in Madder shooting and kills Killy. Marco flees, and despite Madder's best efforts, Timmy is unable to escape the van and dies.

Marco is sentenced to prison for 30 years, and Tyrone for 35. Switcher commits suicide and Madder leaves the life of gang violence behind after becoming a police informant to get a reduced prison sentence. He becomes a youth worker.

During the end credits, it is shown that Tiny Madder’s music has been gaining national attention throughout the country. However, he says that he no longer cares about music and claims that his main reason for doing it was because Timmy was highly supportive of him. Even though Marco has already been imprisoned, Tiny Madder still vows to a group of Ghetto Boys to avenge Timmy's death by going after and killing all the members of the Peckham Boys.

From left: Stephen Odubola and Micheal Ward discuss Blue Story in 2019

• Stephen Odubola as Timmy, a schoolboy from Deptford, Marco's best friend turn rival and Leah's love interest. After Leah's death, Timmy later become gang member as the second-in-command of Ghetto Boys leader Madder. Micaiah Lewis portrays a younger verison of Timmy.
• Micheal Ward as Marco, a schoolboy from Peckham, Timmy's best friend turn rival and the younger brother of Peckham Boys leader Switcher. Tyler Andrew portrays a younger verison of Marco.
• Khali Best as Killy/Kiron, Timmy's best friend from primary school and a member of the Ghetto Boys.
• Karla-Simone Spence as Leah, Timmy's classmate turn love interest from Peckham. She aspires to be a singer.
• Eric Kofi-Abrefa as Switcher, Marco's older brother and the leader of the Peckham Boys.
• Junior Afolabi Salokun as Madder, the leader of the Ghetto Boys. Afolabi Salokun reprises his role from the short film series.
• Kadeem Ramsey as Hakeem, one of Timmy and Marco's friends.
• Richie Campbell as Tyrone
• Jo Martin as Marco's Mum
• Rohan Nedd as Dwayne, one of Timmy and Marco's friends
  • Max Fincham as Young Dwayne
• Andre Dwayne as Gallis, Madder's former second-in-command of the Ghetto Boys. He was killed by Switcher.

Additionally, Sean Sagar and Joshua Blisset play Skitzer and Daps, respectively, alongside Tuwaine Barrett as Striker, Duayne Boachie as Sneaks, Curtis Kantsa as Tiny Madder, Kemi Lofinmakin as Timmy's Mum, Giorgia Angelini Marquez as Karina and Jordan Peters as Cheddar. Deptford rapper DigDat cameos as the guy who beats up Marco at Karina's party and White Yardie appears as Karina's Dad. Comedian and rapper Michael Dapaah, who appeared in Shiro's Story Part 2, filmed a cameo appearance but it was cut from the final film.

Rapman and BBC Films developed and co-financed the film,[7] and in late 2018 Paramount Pictures bought worldwide distribution rights for the film.[8] Damian Jones (of DJ Films) and Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor produced the film with Rose Garnett and Eva Yates of BBC Films;[9] Charles Moore and Paul Grindey of Viewfinder, and Rapman were executive producers. Principal photography began 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.[1][10]

The film was released on 22 November 2019.[11] Vue Cinemas and Showcase Cinemas in the UK decided to stop showing the film after an outbreak of violence during a screening at a cinema in Birmingham.[12] Showcase resumed screenings a few days later. The film was released through Premium VOD in the United States on May 5, 2020, after the limited theatrical release on March 20, 2020 was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[13]

Critical response

Micheal Ward's performance received critical praise and earned him the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 43 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The website's consensus reads, "Raw and riveting, Blue Story overcomes its somewhat prosaic story with powerful performances and an impressive clarity of purpose."[14] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 69 out of 100 based on reviews from 15 critics, which indicates "generally favourable reviews".[15]

Mike McCahill of The Guardian gave the film three stars out of five and called it "An assured and capably performed morality play."[16] BBC Films say the film "powerfully depicts the futility of gang violence".[17]

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.[21][22] Police arrested five teenagers.[23] 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.[23]

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."[24] 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.[25][24]

Following the disorder at Star City, the Vue Cinemas chain cancelled all screenings of Blue Story.[26][27] 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.[17] Cinema chain Showcase subsequently also ceased showing the film, but the Odeon and Cineworld chains continued to screen it.[17] The ban by Showcase and Vue was labelled as racist by some people on social media,[28][29] with Showcase later reversing their decision.[30] The film's director Rapman also questioned the reasons behind the ban.[31]

Vue also said they would restart showings, with increased security.[32]

• List of black films of the 2010s

• Blue Story at IMDb
• Blue Story at Box Office Mojo