That “z” in the title is a bad sign: shoved in out of desperation to denote this film as young, diverse and urban. In fact, Purple Beatz plays out like a post-watershed episode of Hollyoaks, with less depth and artistic flair.
It stars Izzy Jones as Sarah-Jane, an aspiring singer who, after moving to London from Bournemouth, finds love and success until a nasty record producer messes things up. Despite the best efforts of Jones and Steven Michael-O’Hara, who plays love interest Airbeats, the barebones script gives them nothing. The romance is limp and perfunctory; each stage of their relationship is rushed; emotional depth is shunned in favour of dull plot momentum.
This, unfortunately, is a feeling that extends to the entire film. Mature themes are dealt with immaturely: despite its drum’n’bass backdrop, drug use is dealt with in a prudish, morally declarative manner. Sexual harassment and abuses of power in the music industry are portrayed with crude simplicity.
Aron von Andrian plays Russell D, the record producer responsible for Sarah-Jane’s rise and fall, with impressive absurdity. He is slimy, both figuratively and literally – he snorts and screams his way through the film, salivating throughout as he licks his lips every few seconds. Jones puts in a likable and versatile performance as Sarah-Jane, overcoming the script’s trite simplicity to deliver moments of adequate emotion. For a film apparently set in the 90s, the overstretched production design does it little favours, with laughably sparse club scenes, as if our ravers have rocked up to the 10:15pm amateur DJ slot, while the period-appropriate props, such as portable CD players or chunky mobile phones, are jarring.
Without the explicit language and drug use, this could have been be a serviceable CBBC one-off. As it is however, Purple Beatz neither works as an authentic throwback to 90s drum’n’bass London, or a relatable insight for today’s younger audiences it lazily court-z.
• Purple Beatz is released on 24 October on digital platforms.
