From Bullet Boy to Blue Story, the inescapable whirlpool of life in London’s youth gangs has been a cinematic theme for some time now – one that invariably comes with the standard-issue banging grime soundtrack. Daniel Glenn-Barbour’s low-budget debut doesn’t deviate from the norm, but it has a heightened introspection that marks it out, a kind of dull roiling despair behind the eyes, thanks to its unusually passive protagonist: Darrell who, as the title suggests, is forever acquiescing to the requests of others – and is played with terrifically repressed, bobble-hatted anti-verve by Kieton Saunders-Browne.
In his late teens, Darrell has already served a stretch in prison on behalf of one of his gangland higher-ups and decides he can no longer stomach being patronised by snooty management in a dead-end office internship. But, back under the wing of minor-league dealer Ben (Kirk Smith), he is still on the bottom rung – and bullied for his lack of ambition. After he’s drawn back to selling on the roads, his parents kick him out and he shacks up with Ryan (Keon Martial-Phillip), a fellow gang member who wants to become a chef and suggests that Darrell too is capable of better.
Yes Man puts a finger on how resignation to a lack of options in life is probably, in many cases, what leads to gang embroilment; Saunders-Browne’s wayward gaze, always fleeing for the corners of the room, suggests his character would rather be anywhere else. The civilian/criminal tug-of-war is not new, but Glenn-Barbour approaches it with a nervy sensitivity behind the camera that makes a positive of the film’s rough edges, while diligent characterisation probes how Darrell has absorbed his father’s vulnerability.
Perhaps pushing the character study more in this direction, rather than going down the well-worn gang path, would have helped, as Yes Man struggles to find its own shape. But as a statement on thug life, it’s downbeat without much self-pitying fatalism, and Saunders-Browne’s astute, sullen performance is all too convincing.
• Yes Man is available on digital platforms on 13 June.
