Yardie (film)

Yardie is a 2018 British crime drama film directed by Idris Elba, in his feature directorial debut, and starring Aml Ameen, Shantol Jackson, Stephen Graham, Fraser James, Sheldon Shepherd, and Everaldo Creary. It is based on the novel of the same name by Jamaican-born writer Victor Headley. It was screened in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. In February 2018, the first trailer to the film and a poster was released.

Premise
Recently reeling from his brother’s death in a shooting when he was a child, Dennis Campbell, aka “D”, is hired by Jamaican crimelord and reggae producer King Fox to deliver a package of cocaine to Jamaican gangster Rico who resides in the Borough of Hackney in London. But when Dennis finds out that the man who killed his brother years ago is also living in England, he is torn between revenge against the murderer and the duty he was sworn to do.

Cast

 * Aml Ameen as Dennis "D" Campbell
 * Shantol Jackson as Yvonne
 * Sheldon Shepherd as King Fox
 * Stephen Graham as Rico
 * Fraser James as Piper
 * Everaldo Creary as Jerry Dread
 * Akin Gazi as Arif
 * Mark Rhino Smith as Raggz
 * Naomi Ackie as Mona

Production
Several scenes, including high-paced car chases set in London, were filmed at the Chatham Historic Dockyard in Kent, doubling up for East London in the 1970s. The Dockyard also features as the wider area where Rico's (Stephen Graham) club is located and D. (Aml Ameen) is chased through the streets and over the roofs at night by Rico's men.

Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 54%, based on 67 reviews with an average rating of 5.73/10. The site's critical consensus reads "Yardie proves debuting director Idris Elba has a distinctive eye that benefits from a strong personal connection to his material, even if the end results are somewhat uneven." Metacritic gives the film a weighted average score of 52 out of 100, based on 18 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".