Rage is a coming-of-age story about three south London lads: Jamie, aka Rage (Fraser Ayres), a mixed-race rapper and angry young man about town, Godwin (Human Traffic's Shaun Parkes), a black pianist, and Thomas (John Pickard), a white, middle-class DJ. Leaving school, the boys plan to cut a hip-hop record, but their naïve confidence collapses in the face of harsh reality - in other words, they're just another gang of skint hopefuls enamoured with gangsta rap.
The model for this tale of race and angst is clearly Mathieu Kassovitz's La Haine. Rage's rage, however, is sadly not on a par with the Gallic hate; neither is it as stylish nor as ballsy.
Admittedly, with its portrayal of these inner-city kids shaking off fantasies and their dependence on Americana and realising their identities, Rage strikes a decidedly more positive note than its French predecessor. But just as it invites comparison with Kassovitz's gritty masterpiece, it also suffers by it.
