This is Destiny Ekaragha's first feature, only the third feature made by a black woman, and is set as her impressive Tight Jeans short was in Peckham, London. Adapted by the director from Bola Egbaje's eponymous play (2007), Gone Too Far! toys with the petty rivalry between various non-whites in the community, but displays it in an essentially humorous way.
Yemi (Malachi Kirby) meets his older brother Iku (OC Uyeke), whom he's not seen for many years and doesn't even recognise. What's worse, Iku dresses in an uncool way, such as wearing socks with sandals, and speaking a mixture of English and Yoruba. Obviously, Yami is embarrassed, all the more so as he's sent by his mother to go with Iku to buy okra.
On the way they meet many characters, including the half-Jamaican girl Armani (Shanika Warren-Markland) Yami has the hots for, but who isn't interested in Yami and makes a fool of him: she's a prick teaser. In fact she's the girlfriend of Razer (Tosin Cole), who likes to think he's the main man of the neighbourhood: cue for fights, misunderstandings, etc.
I winced a few times – when the comedy tilted towards farce, and when the acting let things down a bit – but this is a hugely promising debut feature, probably introducing issues which British cinema hasn't touched on before.
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