DailyView: Day 293, Movie 415

The fourth film in Steve McQueen’s personal opus followed the early life story of Alex Wheatle (Sheyi Cole), award-winning YA author. This biopic tells the story of Alex from young boy spending his childhood in a mostly white institutional care without any real closeness or caring to young adulthood in Brixton where he finds a sense of community and who he truly is.

Of the Small Axe series so far, Alex Wheatle was the one that I was least engaged in. The last two in this series have not been my favorites and have not reached the levels of the first two.

Sheyi Cole is excellent in the title role. He is obviously the standout in this film.

The tone and mood of the movie continues to fit the time and the circumstances beautifully. The scenes of confrontation with the London police stands out among the tale.

This was one of the shortest of the series so far, but it did feel long. There were some impressive scene with Alex in jail with Simeon (Robbie Gee), who becomes a major influence on the future of the writer. I enjoyed Robbie Gee’s work in Alex Wheatle.

Good performances, but I just did not connect with this film either.