Alex Wheatle
- Episode aired Dec 11, 2020
- TV-MA
- 1h 6m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.5K
YOUR RATING
The true story of writer Alex Wheatle and his spell in prison after the Brixton riots.The true story of writer Alex Wheatle and his spell in prison after the Brixton riots.The true story of writer Alex Wheatle and his spell in prison after the Brixton riots.
Fumilayo Brown-Olateju
- Dawn
- (as Fumilayo Brown-Olatej)
Ashley McGuire
- Cook
- (as Ashley Maguire)
Louis J Rhone
- Rankin's Dread
- (as Louis j Rhone)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaOne of Alex Wheatle's own sons worked with the production design team. At one point, he called his father to tell him "Dad, I'm prepping your bedroom for younger Alex. It's fucked up."
- GoofsThe voiceover reading Wheatle's file gives his name as "Alec Alphonso Wheatle." His first name is Alex, not Alec.
- Quotes
Alex Wheatle: [confused about being called African by a couple of Brixtonians] I'm from Surrey.
- ConnectionsReferences Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
- SoundtracksSatta Massagana
(uncredited)
Written by Bernard Collins, Donald Manning and Lynford Manning
Performed by The Abyssinians
Featured review
Over in a flash
I prefer it over Lovers Rock, but in some ways this left me even more cold than that one did.
This one, more than any other in this series so far, is most about the black community specifically, so as a white person, a lot of the language and culture simply flies straight over my head. Obviously that shouldn't be different just for my benefit - I think it's pretty obvious that first and foremost, this series was made by black people, for black people, and I wouldn't want to change that, but it does mean that some of this is alienating to me.
Speaking a bit more objectively, I think that this really could have benefited from having a longer runtime, as at only an hour and five minutes, it does often feel like it's racing through the motions and skipping over quite a bit, but Alex as a character is still pretty relatable and likable to me.
It's just that once you get the sense that he's been properly integrated into the black community, there's not much else to this narratively, because of course he's going to get out of prison and become a successful author, he's based on a real person who is a successful author.
But for all my whining, this is still just as well acted, shot, and directed as anything else in this series, and at least you can never say that any scene feels a bit pointless with this kind of runtime, unlike Mangrove.
But you know...there's so many scenes that could have had a point that just aren't in here, so...still Mangrove ftw.
This one, more than any other in this series so far, is most about the black community specifically, so as a white person, a lot of the language and culture simply flies straight over my head. Obviously that shouldn't be different just for my benefit - I think it's pretty obvious that first and foremost, this series was made by black people, for black people, and I wouldn't want to change that, but it does mean that some of this is alienating to me.
Speaking a bit more objectively, I think that this really could have benefited from having a longer runtime, as at only an hour and five minutes, it does often feel like it's racing through the motions and skipping over quite a bit, but Alex as a character is still pretty relatable and likable to me.
It's just that once you get the sense that he's been properly integrated into the black community, there's not much else to this narratively, because of course he's going to get out of prison and become a successful author, he's based on a real person who is a successful author.
But for all my whining, this is still just as well acted, shot, and directed as anything else in this series, and at least you can never say that any scene feels a bit pointless with this kind of runtime, unlike Mangrove.
But you know...there's so many scenes that could have had a point that just aren't in here, so...still Mangrove ftw.
helpful•11
- TheCorniestLemur
- May 27, 2021
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Filming locations
- Canterbury Prison, Canterbury, Kent, England, UK(prison location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.00 : 1
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