This affecting British drama centres on Congolese teenager Jumah (Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, impressive) who’s coping with his traumatic past – he may or may not have been a child soldier – as well as present moral conundrums. For instance, he has to decide whether to come forward as a witness when he sees a fellow student (Fady Elsayed from My Brother the Devil) stab someone. On top of that, he’s finding it difficult to open up to his girlfriend (Rosie Day) and not disappoint his adopted mother (Rachael Stirling) when he’s threatened with expulsion from his Bexley school. And should he follow his dream and become a hairdresser? Writer-director Rob Brown overstuffs the plot with melodramatic incident, but elsewhere shows laudable restraint with dialogue that refrains from filling in every gap, gliding, unfussy camerawork, and a sparse, understated score. Don’t let the grimness of the plot synopsis put you off.
