Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
A gang of teenage boys stalk the streets of Naples armed with hand guns and AK-47s to do their mob bosses' bidding – until they decide to be the bosses themselves.
Claudio Giovannesi's adaptation of Roberto Saviano's novel is a gripping Neapolitan crime drama that distinguishes itself through its raw, kinetic energy and the authentic use of non-professional young actors navigating the Camorra's brutal ecosystem. The cinematography is genuinely exceptional — handheld, immersive, and viscerally immediate, capturing Naples' labyrinthine streets with a documentarian intensity that elevates the material. The performances from the young cast are convincing and unaffected, though not transcendent. The plot follows a fairly familiar rise-and-fall crime trajectory, and while the Naples/Camorra setting gives it texture, it doesn't fully escape genre conventions. The ending, while bleak and honest to the milieu, feels somewhat abrupt. Overall a strong, confident film elevated chiefly by its visual craft.