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
Knowing the Past to Know the Future
"Alex Wheatle," about the coming of age of the titular novelist, is a somewhat lacking entry in Steve McQueen's "Small Axe" anthology of five movies storywise--not because what is there is uninteresting, including the police brutality that typifies most of the "Small Axe" productions, but because it seems more incomplete than some of the other and longer pictures of the series. Its end feels more like an intermission or midway point. Plotwise, it's the most intricate of the five, though.
In it, Wheatle is imprisoned after the 1981 Brixton uprising, much of which is depicted by still photographs of the real events along with poetic narration. The rest of Wheatle's story is told by him as a flashback to his prison cell mate, further layered by the records of his upbringing that he later reads, as well as by his foray into music and that he's to become a writer. Ironically, too, it's the narrative of the past of an orphan who seems to have no heritage and who struggles to fit into either the communities of black or white, English or West Indies, cops or criminals--a theme that is also highlighted in McQueen's prior "Red, White and Blue" (2020). There's a lot going on that could've benefited from a runtime of more than barely over an hour. The title cards at the end describing what next happens for Wheatle feel like missing scenes.
In it, Wheatle is imprisoned after the 1981 Brixton uprising, much of which is depicted by still photographs of the real events along with poetic narration. The rest of Wheatle's story is told by him as a flashback to his prison cell mate, further layered by the records of his upbringing that he later reads, as well as by his foray into music and that he's to become a writer. Ironically, too, it's the narrative of the past of an orphan who seems to have no heritage and who struggles to fit into either the communities of black or white, English or West Indies, cops or criminals--a theme that is also highlighted in McQueen's prior "Red, White and Blue" (2020). There's a lot going on that could've benefited from a runtime of more than barely over an hour. The title cards at the end describing what next happens for Wheatle feel like missing scenes.
helpful•11
- Cineanalyst
- Jan 15, 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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