Bashment (UK)

For much of Bashment, the consequences of violence are clearer than the film’s position on what caused it. This British indie drama follows a homophobic attack through the lives it damages, while leaving its central argument unresolved.

JJ, a white, openly gay MC, is trying to reach the Urban Slam finals. After a tense encounter with a rival crew, The Ilford Illmanics, he faces them in an onstage rap battle. At the same time, his boyfriend Orlando is backstage, where the four men assault him. The attack leaves Orlando with brain damage, and JJ’s life becomes bound up with caring for a partner who is now dependent and childlike, with only occasional moments of clarity. Those scenes are heartbreaking.

The film also traces the crew’s path through prison and the lives of people connected to the case. Their solicitor is a closeted gay man whom the same men had previously attacked in a shop. That earlier incident led him to meet and fall for a young carer. Later, he approaches JJ with the possibility of a class action suit, arguing that the gang’s violence was provoked by the song’s lyrics.

That suggestion raises the question posed by the film’s premise: can music become an instrument of hate? Bashment sets out to examine how race and sexuality intersect in London’s urban and dancehall music scene, and how that intersection can feed violence. It deserves credit for confronting a difficult subject directly. Its refusal to offer either side a clear resolution, including on the lyrics argument, leaves room for questions of redemption, forgiveness and change. The absence of sex scenes also feels deliberate: the director appears more interested in making a point about the gay community than using titillation to place the film within the gay genre.

But the film’s ambitions are not matched by all of its storytelling. The characters’ apparent redemption after prison did not feel earned to me, and their transformations were hard to believe. New characters and subplots repeatedly come and go, while some threads receive little follow-through. The open-endedness becomes a weakness rather than a satisfying ambiguity. I also found the language difficult to get used to, and some dialogue took time to follow.

Bashment has its heart in the right place, and may appeal to viewers drawn to the urban music scene or urban drama. For an average moviegoer like me, though, the lack of sustained discussion and closure leaves the director’s viewpoint on the issues uncertain. (4/10)