Noel Clarke on '4.3.2.1'

The director of 'Kidulthood' and 'Adulthood' discusses his new all-female heist caper.

Noel Clarke went from being a sidekick on ‘Doctor Who’ to winning a Bafta after writing and starring in ‘Kidulthood’ and ‘Adulthood’, the second of which the London-born 34 year old also directed. They were word-of-mouth phenomena: films about kids that kids wanted to watch. His latest film, ‘4.3.2.1’, follows four sixth-form girls who become tangled in a diamond theft and should do for girl power what his first two films did for west London hoodies.

‘4.3.2.1’ is totally different from ‘Kidulthood’ and ‘Adulthood’. Did you want to get away from that world?
‘It was a conscious move. I was wary of being that guy who does those films. And more importantly being a guy who just does films for guys. The girls were sometimes seen as negative characters, or not as strong.’

So you set out to write a film about women?
‘Yeah, I remember having a meeting after “Kidulthood”, and the man I was meeting said he didn’t think the girls I’d written were very good – that he didn’t know any women that behaved like that. I got so annoyed at that.’

Did you show the script to any women in your life to check it over?
‘My wife had a look at it and her little sister read it a few times. But I think I know women pretty well – all men say that, though.’

In the film you’ve got four girls and replay the same three days from each of their perspectives. Was that tricky?
‘Filming it was easy. The writing took a lot of planning. Then in post-production I had a big timeline all across the room to make sure it worked: she’s in New York, so that’s five hours behind, a plane journey is six hours. Does that work? Will she be back by 11pm?’

For a film about girl power, there is a lot of female flesh on display.
‘If the actresses didn’t want to do it, I wouldn’t have done it. The real culprit I guess is Shanika who plays Kerrys.’

There’s a lot of her in her underwear.
‘The underwear stuff, being trapped in the panic room – there’s no excuse for that, really. It’s not quite underwear, though. It’s more like a bikini type thing. She’s at home, she’s chilling out, she’s failed her driving test. She could have been in clothes but I was like: the boys have got to have something as well. So it goes a little bit against the girl power. But at least I’m not trying to justify it. I know it does. But I want men to come out saying, “That film was all right.” And the girls were comfortable doing it.’

The women do get the upper hand…
‘That’s right. The whole thing was always, no matter what happens to them, they have to come out on top. Because for me it’s really about girls who become strong women.’

Is that from your background? You were brought up by your mum.
‘My wife is a strong woman. She’s independent. And my mum raised me on her own. To me that’s the epitome of a strong woman. I appreciate it more now that I’ve got a child myself.’

Your films do excite their fair share of moral panic. ‘Kidulthood’ and ‘Adulthood’ were the stuff of parents’ worst nightmares…
‘Yeah, definitely the first one, the second one was more of a moral tale.’

In ‘4.3.2.1’ it’s the lesbian sex scene.
‘People have asked me about that, and all I can say is that the character of Kerrys is gay or bisexual. So what? Would we be having this discussion if it was a man and a woman? They’re in love, that’s all it is. Nudity isn’t an issue in Europe. Here, one whiff of a boob and everyone’s shuffling in their seats.’

Are your films review-proof?
‘The last one seemed to be. I couldn’t care less about reviews. But no matter what people said, “Adulthood” just did its box office. I don’t know if “4.3.2.1” will do that.’

Have you always got an eye on the box office?
‘Yeah, completely. For me, I want to see movies. When you go to the cinema, you could be spending 60 quid. You’re taking a date, you’re eating a meal, you’re getting snacks, you’ve got to travel to get there. If I’m spending £60 on something, I want to be entertained. I can buy a computer game for £40 and be entertained for a month, right? I guess I come at it as a film fan, instead of being from the industry, being trained and all that kind of stuff.’

How do you explain the success of ‘Kidulthood’ and ‘Adulthood’?
‘I’m proud of all my work, but there’s nothing spectacular about “Kidulthood” and “Adulthood”, apart from the fact that they’re different. When “Kidulthood” came out, there was nothing like that. I can confidently say that I’m not the best director, I’m not the best writer, I’m not the best actor out there. But nobody is making films like me. And that’s not to be arrogant. Imagine you’re fed apples every single day and then one day someone gives you a pear. I think it’s as simple as that.’

Read our review of '4.3.2.1'

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