London film festival: Terrific performances from Natey Jones, Alexandra Burke and Temilola Olatunbosun match this tender drama about masculinity
There’s warmth, humour, sadness and tenderness in this big-hearted feature debut from writer-director Dionne Edwards. It’s a movie about masculinity that could have been solemn and prescriptive; instead it’s pulsing with humanity, thanks in great part to tremendous performances from its leads Natey Jones, Alexandra Burke and smart newcomer Temilola Olatunbosun.
Burke is already known as the West End performer, recording star and X Factor winner; she plays Candice, a singer about to land the role of a lifetime playing Tina Turner in a big musical – just a few more audition rounds to go. But she has problems: teen daughter Kenisha (Olatunbosun) is in trouble at school, and her partner, Travis (Jones) is just out of prison on licence, his ankle tag giving him a strange and sinister limp.
