Urban Hymn

In the London of 2011, after the riots, Jamie lives in a care home, has trouble with her anger and gets into constant trouble with her friend Leanne. Kate, a social worker, notices that she can sing and tries to get her into a choir. Leanne treats this as betrayal. The film is not interested in the discovery of talent. It is interested in the cost of leaving someone behind: Jamie's progress means leaving Leanne, and the film draws that friendship as a dangerous bond. The outcome is that the system can save only one of these two girls. The form is realist British social drama: care home corridors, social work meetings, courtrooms. Michael Caton-Jones directed. Shirley Henderson plays the social worker. What the film is best remembered for now is its casting: Letitia Wright, who plays Jamie, gained international recognition a few years later with Black Panther. Isabella Laughland plays Leanne. Who it is for: viewers who like British social realism and redemption stories built on music. Who it is not for: anyone uneasy with the saviour narrative. The film puts the social worker at the centre and leaves less room for the girls' own decisions.