Sister`s Hood - The Girl Gang - DVD

Film: After the death of her mother, Kayla (Aimee Kelly) moves with her older sister Tanya (Kate Foster-Barnes) from Newcastle to a rough problem district of London. When she's hit on by a couple of hoodlums on the bus one day, they're put to flight by the gang led by the tough Danielle, called Daze (Emma Hartley-Miller). Kayla is quickly intrigued by the girl gang and after some initial doubts decides that she really wants to become a member of this group. But then fate strikes again with a vengeance as Tanya watches dealer Trey (Ashley Walters) go after his pregnant girlfriend Shaks (Rianne Steele). Her attempt to intervene in the altercation costs Tanya dearly, as she nearly beats Trey and his goons to death. Kayla, now on her own, is out for revenge. And Daze, who also has a score to settle with Trey, is only too happy to help her in this dangerous endeavour...

With his feature film debut Sister`s Hood - The Girls Gang, filmmaker Nirpal Bhogal ventures into a difficult subject matter that he wanted to render as authentically as possible, especially for young viewers. Intensive research in the milieu and the selection of good actors should ensure this project. And indeed, especially the young actresses leave a very good impression. Aimee Kelly, Emma Hartley-Miller and Lily Loveless, who is already known to the target group through the youth series Skins, do their job really well. In addition, there are some very intense moments, such as the attack on Tanya, and an overall oppressive atmosphere that makes it clear where Bhogal's intentions lay.

But unfortunately there are other aspects that do not live up to the high standards on which the film is based. Too often the director tries to wrap the film in an outfit that appeals to young viewers with quick cuts, a pounding soundtrack and garish colours. By doing so, however, he only succeeds in invalidating and diluting the moments that are strong in themselves. Furthermore, he devotes too much attention to inherently unnecessary sideshows, such as Trey's girlfriend Shaks and her pregnancy, which means that the development of the actual supporting characters misses out on important time. As a result, most of the characters remain quite superficial and their fate also loses a lot of intensity as a result.

Sister`s Hood - The Girl Gang ends up being a well-intentioned teen drama with some strong moments and convincing actresses. A little more from essentials focused staging and a little less obvious ingratiation to the youthful target audience, however, could have made the film a really profound and intense film, which could have revealed quite great strengths not only on the surface, but also in the execution. Nevertheless, due to the inherently gripping story and the noticeably good intentions at the end there is still a conciliatory: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD is very clean and underlines with its reduced color scheme the dreary, undercooled atmosphere of the story. The image sharpness is on a good level for long stretches, only in the darker scenes here and there small weak points can be identified. The sound is primarily dominated by the dialogue and the bass-heavy soundtrack, with the whole thing coming across a little stronger in the DTS mix. Good!

Extras: As a bonus, the DVD has four interviews (approx. 11 min.), as well as an uncommented look behind the scenes (approx. 3 min.) to offer. These extras are in the original English version without subtitles. In addition, there is still the trailer to the film, as well as other program tips of the provider.

Conclusion: Sister`s Hood - The Girl's Gang is a youth drama striving for authenticity and dramaturgical depth, which despite good actresses and some intense moments ultimately seems to fail because of its own ambitions. The DVD presents the film in a good technical realization, the bonus material, however, is a bit meager. Overall, then, an ambitious film that only partially lives up to its claim, but is still well worth watching, especially for younger viewers who like intense social dramas, despite its weak points

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp