Rocks: Lovely, Affecting Drama Captures Silliness and Sorrow of Teen at a Crossroads
By Kim Hughes
Rating: A
As any member of the human race will tell you with an eye roll and a sigh, teenage girls are emotionally angular, oddball creatures whose passions are invariably writ large, even when the stakes are low.
When something genuinely heavy does happen, that same goofiness and drama become much more consequential, especially set against the often-fraught backdrop of teenage friendships, with their shifting allegiances, pernicious gossip, and endless A/B comparisons.
Such is the baseline for Rocks, an enormously poignant teenage-led drama from director Sarah Gavron (see also Brick Lane and Suffragette) which premiered to acclaim at TIFF 2019. Set in a contemporary London unmistakable in its realism, Rocks centres on its eponymous teenage protagonist, nicknamed Rocks (Bukky Bakray) who lives an ordinary life with her single mom and charismatic kid brother Emmanuel (D’angelou Osei Kissiedu).
Rocks’ days are spent goofing around with her school friends, taking selfies, doing makeup, talking boys… the usual teenage stuff. Notable is the strong bond between the girls, especially Rocks and BFF Sumaya (Kosar Ali) who speak candidly to each other in ways that transcend their years. Well sometimes. Other times it’s pure mile-a-minute teenspeak.
That all the girls come from different social, ethnic, and religious backgrounds yet find common terrain further underscores their deeply human connection while seamlessly mirroring the diaspora that is 21st century Europe and beyond. This is multiculturalism at its best.
Everything changes when Rocks and Emmanuel’s mother — recently fired and evidently unstable —abruptly takes off, leaving only a note (“Baby I’m so sorry but I have to go away again. Clear my head. I love you and your brother very much. I’ll come back to you… I promise.”)
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The abandonment creates an emotional and economic vacuum that Rocks immediately attempts to fill. She fails of course, but in her teenage wisdom or lack thereof, Rocks elects not to tell teachers, social workers, police or other establishment types who might be able to help.
Rocks even tries to conceal the situation from Sumaya, who teases it out nevertheless. As Rocks struggles to keep herself and Emmanuel housed, fed and on balance, loyalties are tested, and friendships take on new and more complex dimensions.
Two things make Rocks exceptionally powerful: excellent performances from its young cast and the easy and authentic intimacy director Gavron captures between the girls, especially in a scene in art class where the students mimic Picasso, creating cut-and-paste self-portraits.
Another formidable — and simultaneously lovely and heartbreaking — scene finds Rocks with Sumaya’s large extended family, whose own intimacy and filial comfort presents a stark contrast to Rocks’ bleak situation which spirals inexorably downward before redemption is found.
Portraying despair and silliness as two sides of the same coin, Rocks perfectly captures the teenage experience while telling a compelling story made more persuasive by its infinite possibility. You will never again find yourself so keen to eavesdrop on a howling, Snapchatting gaggle of teenage girls.
Rocks. Directed by Sarah Gavron. Starring Bukky Bakray, D’angelou Osei Kissiedu, and Kosar Ali. Now available for streaming on VOD and most major digital platforms. Also available to rent on digital TIFF Bell Lightbox.