Anti-Social
Director: Reg Traviss
Stars: Gregg Sulkin, Meghan Markle, Josh Myers
Duration: 116 mins
Class: 15
KRS Cinema Releasing

Dee (Gregg Sulkin) is a young and exceptionally talented street-graffiti artist, expressing his anti-establishment views via the illegal art that he splashes across public property. As he plies his trade with his arsenal of spray cans on a railway wall, a criminal gang of leather-clad jewellery thieves led by Dee’s brother Marcus (Josh Myers) fearlessly speed into a posh London shopping centre on motorcycles to carry out a daring smash-and-grab, armed with sledgehammers and axes.

As the two brothers evolve in their respective occupations – Marcus hooking up with an organised crime syndicate and Dee moving up as the upper echelons of the art world discover his world – Marcus’s involvement in a violent gang war threatens to bring Dee’s aspirations crashing down around him.

Taking his cue from a number of smash-and-grab robberies carried out in London by gangs on motorcycles between 2002 and 2013, screenwriter/director Reg Traviss has fashioned a solid crime drama while attempting to soften the rougher edges of his tale via the parallel coming-of-age drama that focuses on Dee.

It may appear an odd mix on paper, the explosion in illegal street art popularised by the shadowy Banksy and the headlines the artist’s work has attracted, mingled with the grit of London’s underbelly. This works in parts but, following a strong opening which effectively establishes the scene, Travis’s script rambles a little and takes its time to settle down into a coherent narrative. Throughout, there are a couple of plot contrivances – such as a character getting shot multiple times at point blank range and surviving – which are hard to swallow.

Moreover, many of the characters are a tad stereotypical and, for the most part, too thinly-sketched to really impress. Many of them display little more traits than a swagger, slang-infused lingo and a penchant for violence.

Josh Myers’s Marcus is charismatic and certainly has presence, to the point I wished his character was explored more deeply. For the script seems keener to focus on the violent elements of his chosen profession than what actually drives him. This is a ruthless criminal, certainly. Yet, that he genuinely loves and respects both his mother and his girlfriend suggest there is more to him than merely the love of money and a bit more background would have added a few layers of depth to the character.

While the main focus is on Marcus and the violent world he inhabits, Dee’s journey provides the heart and soul of the story and Sulkin does a commendable job of transforming his character’s juvenile anti-social behaviour into wide-eyed wonder as his work is discovered by prominent players in the art world who want to sponsor him and offer him and his girlfriend Kirsten (Meghan Markle) the chance of a better life.

Sulkin convincingly embodies the doubts about leaving his family and legitimising his outlaw behaviour and you are fully rooting for him as things get really complicated.

Kudos to Traviss for staging a number of adrenaline-filled set pieces that at first glance may seem a tad over the top. But, as it happens, the director recreated many of the breathtakingly audacious action scenes from existing footage of the crimes which inspired his story.

The sight of four people covered in burkas hovering in a luxury goods store before wreaking complete havoc may seem incongruous, but it is a scene that was ripped straight from the headlines.

These scenes are certainly well-executed and thoroughly gripping, although the escalating tit-for-tat game between Marcus’s crew and their sworn rivals – involving nightclub brawls, double-crossing, robbery and shootings – culminates in a brutal gang rape which makes for some uncomfortable viewing. That said, the final robbery and its airport-set conclusion is pure adrenaline and will have you gasping for breath.

Trivia note: Gozo serves as a backdrop for one of the film’s quieter scenes – a nod to Traviss’s Maltese roots (his mother is Maltese).