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Mischief Night
Stars: Kelli Hollis, Michael Taylor, Holly Kenny, Qasim Akhtar, Gwyne Hollis
Director: Penny Woolcock
A Yorkshire town, split into white and Pakistani communities, awaits the coming of Mischief Night, a local variation on the 'trick or treat' tradition.
In Penny Woolcock's down-to-earth comedy-drama, druglords rule the neighbourhood, there's trouble at the local mosque from a militant imam, and paedophiles lurk to trap the more unawary Mischief Night kids.
Tina (Kelli Hollis), a single mum with three children by different fathers, battles to keep her family together. The oldest (Taylor) would like to impress his grandad, the local crime czar (Gwyne Hollis), while Kimberley (Kenny), a wilful 10-year-old, befriends Pakistani boy Asif (himself forced to work for drug dealers after crashing a car) in a bid to find her biological father.
It's OK, with relaxed performances from the kids. And incidentally it appears that the new buzzphrase for mixed race is 'dual heritage'. Good grief.
David Quinlan
UK 2006. UK Distributor: Verve Pictures. Colour by Kodak.
92 minutes. Not widescreen. UK certificate: 15.
Guidance ratings (out of 3): Sex/nudity 0, Violence/Horror 0, Drugs 1, Swearing 2.
Review date: 30 Oct 2006