Small Axe - Alex Wheatle (2020) Review

So we are almost at the end of the Small Axe series with the penultimate film Alex Wheatle and here is my review for it. The premise of the film follows the story of Alex Wheatle as he goes from a child to young man who ends up in trouble with the law. 

Main Character

Similar to Lovers Rock this films main character is played by an unknown, Alex Wheatle is played by Sheyi Cole and he does an okay job here. I actually think he shows enough to tell me that we will see more of him and he shows some charm here which is pretty impressive considering this is his first thing ever. I am sure in real life Alex Wheatle was an important and impressive person but this film fails to tell you that, there is nothing interesting about Alex and it makes you not care about this entire film. I mean the film is literally named after him but could I tell you anything distinctive and interesting about his character, I mean no I couldn't and that hurts this film that doesn't really do anything with anybody else. 

Supporting Characters

The supporting cast isn't really filled with any interesting characters but it has some young actors and actresses who fit nicely into the film and are nice to watch, but they are not given anything to do and it doesn't help flesh out this story or the people around Alex. 

Story

The story also doesn't do much for me, I mean this man is known for being really into his literature but you never see him write anything so what is the point. It introduces some interesting ideas and concepts but fails to capitalise on any of them, it goes through his life but never shows anything in particular detail to draw you in and keep you invested. 

Script 

The script is okay, it does show some pretty intense dialogue and moments and makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, I also chuckled a few times. But this films layout of the story structure is really bad and it hurts the flow of the film and it doesn't do enough to rise it to the levels of other films similar to this. 

Style

The style of these Small Axe films are very similar and this one is no different, it shows off the culture and environment around this person and does a decent job of it. But the issue is, apart from Mangrove these films have been pretty short and it kind of feels like you aren't watching a proper movie, it also doesn't help that the film is slow and takes way too long to get going. 

Overall

Overall, this is a below average film that is more like Lovers Rock then Mangrove. Again if you are watching Small Axe this is one that you can give a skip too. 

Rating - 4/10