A Moving Image
A heartfelt docudrama highlighting the story of Gentrified Brixton
A Moving Image is a strong, powerful and informative docu-drama about the gentrification of the Brixton Borough in London. The film tackles the issue in a unique way as the format isn’t something that is typically seen. The film highlights the issue of gentrification in the area through a fictionalised story of a young filmmaker who returns to her home of Brixton but finds that it’s not exactly how she remembered. Distraught by the destruction of the local culture she decides to embark on a project to create a documentary highlighting the community and the issues it faces. Because of the fictional documentary embedded in the film’s narrative, the film jumps back and forth from showing us the story from our main character perspective to showing us scenes from the documentary and it lets us learn about the issue through documentary and fiction.
What I like most about the film is how much it taught me. This is a topic I admittedly haven’t looked that much into but I feel like this film does a good job at informing the audience of the effects of gentrification, the reasons for its existence and the people who add to it, And it does all this in a really concise 74 minute run time. I feel like director Shola Amoo does a great job at showing the negative effects of the issue whilst also doing a good job at not demonising those who unknowingly add to the effects of gentrification. The main character even struggles with her stance on the issue as she feels like Brixton is her home but the people who live there see her as part of the problem as she is someone who lived there, left and has now returned once it’s the hip and trendy place to be. She is forced to evaluate herself and her reasons for even making the film and I think this character’s conflict gives the audience someone to relate to as they can also look to themselves and evaluate their part in the issue. The film also highlights the reason for the mass amounts of middle-class people who move into the area and boost rent prices for the less fortunate who live there but it does so in a way that doesn’t paint them out to be the villain. They are part of the problem but most don’t even realise they’re the problem so instead of attacking them this film does a good job at teaching it’s audience in a way that enables people to learn and open a discussion.
Away from the narrative and onto the more technical aspects of the film I think this film is really well made. The cinematography is amazing, packed with a wide variety of incredible and engaging shots full of vibrant colours that really help highlight the buzzing culture that is essentially being destroyed. The film makes a great distinction between documentary footage and real footage and both are filmed in a manner that makes them really interesting to watch. I also think the acting in the film is really good, with every character feeling somewhat realistic and likeable. Everyone has a fun personality and they have great chemistry together so watching them interact is really easy. Aside from the main cast, the film makes use of real people who live in Brixton and we get to see their personal side to the story. This helps the film feel more authentic and helps the message punch through.
There’s a lot to pick apart and take from this film and I probably didn’t do the entire thing justice in this short review so what I implore anyone reading this to do is to go and watch this film. It’s raw and thought-provoking and will maybe put the issue of the gentrification of local communities into your mind and you may change the way you think about and see “Hipster Havens” like Brixton and Harlem.
