Adam Deacon: Rising Star Trapped in a Safety Net?

The young actor and rapper’s presence within the UK film scene has been on the rise since Noel Clarke’s unforgettable trend-starter, Kidulthood(2006), but Deacon’s spiky supporting character typecast has now had to make way for a lead role situation. Hackney-born urban man-of-the-moment plays a professional footballer at the top of his game. His success and content is threatened when a shady old acquaintance begins blackmailing him for money.

Deacon’s Bafta Rising Star Award last month came as a surprise to the industry; up against favourites Eddie Redmayne and Tom Hiddleston he fought off the Eton’s brat pack competition and collected the prestigious award without any demonstration of leading man ability. What this award really meant was a rebuttal of eloquent heartthrob material;, classically trained acting and predictability, and a long-awaited official British thanks for the flock of gritty ‘bored-youth ‘films that have arrived over recent years in Kidulthood’s wake. Hands up Adulthood, Shank, 4.3.2.1, and… Anuvahood. These films are, more often than not, sharply scripted and highly stylised and sound-edited, marking a modern shift of priorities and a clear, ironic arc between genuine streetwise attitude, tiresome stereotyping and a hyper-real awareness of the new style Clarke and co. have created. Clarke himself noted that it was impossible for so much drama to unfold in just 24 hours but that Kidulthood and others serve an extended, heightened version of a very real reality. They manage to remain uncompromising, yet unpatronizing.

Payback Season is a tongue-in-cheek, hands in pockets (so much hostility, so much flashing of cash) story of anti-authoritarianism and thwarted ambition. A romantic subplot is included for good measure but is mostly irrelevant – the films knows its audience wants cliched dark humour, slick cinematography and gratuitous violence. And offers all this in plenitude. The big bad bully this time round is a jealous and ruthless thug played by David Ajala. His performance casts a shadow over Deacon’s; he is imposing, funny and convincing by all accounts.

The star fails to shine in his debut, not least due to his wishy-washy character Jerome, who showers his family and friends with lavish gifts and nights out, admitting to his trainer that he is only sharing with the latter group ‘to keep them sweet.’ As revealed in the end, his weak nature appears to cost him everything. Deacon’s ventures preceding this one similarly lacked a satisfying resolution, but these cracks and flaws are, I suppose, part of what defines the style. Complete with an obligatory happy-slapping reference, Payback Season seems conscious of its now staple young audience – something even some of the best, more straight-faced films lose sight of. Will Deacon stick with what he knows for the foreseeable future? Or will he tire of a close-to-stale sub-genre and prove his Rising Star quality?