Rocks – Review

By Young Film Critic Alithnayn (Fareeda) Abdulkareem

What director, Sarah Gavron and her team achieve with beauty and skill is the rationalisation of Rock’s journey – from carefree teenage student to stand in parent, and back again. It begins with an overview of Rocks’ life as a precocious teenager, going to classes and mouthing off about breakfast. This does not last for long, as she quickly has to contend with her new, but not entirely unexpected burdens.

The film is shot in a matter of fact manner, that grounds it in a realism – allowing for the audience to empathise with Rocks and her friends, even when she hurts them. The film wisely avoids presenting its many tense moments in a more theatrical manner. Rather the audience is given a real-time view of tragedy and its consequences, without being explicitly instructed on how to feel about the events as they unfold. The story is anchored by the wonderful performance of protagonist Bukky Bakray. Rocks’ (Bakray) day takes a bend for the worse when her mentally ill mother abandons her and her little brother. She bears her changing circumstances with remarkable stoicism. Even as the movie escalates towards its unravelling, we never fear that Rocks may reach a point where things feel too far to turn around. Even as she goes from a big disagreement with her best friend, Sumaya (Kosar Ali) to yelling at a motel receptionist, one holds faith in her redemption.

Narratively, Rocks works on many interconnected levels. It is a portrait of friendship. The movie begins and ends with friendship. The scenes are shot in the manner the dialogue unfolds, with a slight sense of carelessness. We shoot past the girls as they excite over songs, discuss their professional ambitions and croak about things of general interest to teenage girls. These girls are a well-rounded support group, dishing out hard truths with the same earnestness they use when reconciling. 

The movie is a tender portrayal of siblinghood. Rocks and her little brother, Emmanuel spend much of the film together. Played with originality and endearment by D’angelou Osei Kissiedu, Emmanuel seems at once fully aware of the weight of their circumstances yet remains disaffected in that magical resilient way that children can be. When he tells Rocks of their mother – "I don't want her to come back anymore" – it doesn't come across as mean, just an affirmation of his loyalty to Rocks, the one who stays. 

Women rooting for themselves through hard times is not a new cinematic revelation but seeing a group of diverse teenage girls navigate the complexities of their different realities and remain supportive can still be considered a rare thing. When the girls pool their funds to get enough for a ticket to see Emmanuel in Hampstead, it encompassed the beauty and young female friendships.

Rocks is not a movie solely for teenage girls. It is for everyone who believes in the power of relationships and their ability to help a person grow.