''Alex Wheatle'' is a 2020 historical drama film directed by

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and 1 ...

and co-written by McQueen and Alastair Siddons. It stars Sheyi Cole as

Alex Wheatle Alex Alphonso Wheatle MBE (Order of the British Empire), MBE (born 3 January 1963) is a British novelist, who was sentence (law), sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the 1981 Brixton riot in London. Biography Born in 1963 in London to J ...

, a Black British novelist who was sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the 1981 Brixton uprising. The film was released as part of the anthology series '' Small Axe'' on BBC One on 6 December 2020 and on

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, also known simply as Prime Video, is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming and Renting, rental service of Amazon (c ...

on 11 December 2020.

Cast

* Sheyi Cole as

** Asad-Shareef Muhammad as Young Alex Wheatle *

Robbie Gee Robbie Gee (born 24 March 1970) is a British actor, best known for his ''Desmond's'' character "Lee Stanley", for appearing in Guy Ritchie's crime caper '' Snatch'', and for his comedy roles in TV series like ''The Real McCoy'' and ''The Crouc ...

as Simeon * Johann Myers as Cutlass Rankin * Jonathan Jules as Dennis Isaacs * Elliot Edusah as Valin * Khali Best as Badger * Fumilayo Brown-Olateju as Dawn * Dexter Flanders as Floyd

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 97% based on 43 critic reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Sheyi Cole shines in ''Alex Wheatle'', a harrowing biopic that barely scratches the surface of a complex life, but does so with empathy and finesse." Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."

References

External links

* 2020 films 2020 television films 2020s historical drama films 2020 drama films British historical drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s British films Films directed by Steve McQueen {{2020s-UK-film-stub