Stripped down, urgent, and bristling with energy, Sarah Gavron’s latest film tells the story of a teenage girl who has her foundations yanked out from under her. Shola (Bukky Bakray), known as Rocks, lives in a London council flat with her younger brother Emmanuel (D’angelou Osei Kissiedu) and their single mother.
Mum is busy and stressed, leaving Rocks to spend all her free time with school friends. One day, she comes home to find her life radically altered: she is suddenly on her own and must take care of a child.
When her closest friend Sumaya (Kosar Ali) offers support, Rocks doesn’t know how to accept help, blindsided by Sumaya’s two-parent household and relative comfort. From this bleakness, Gavron delivers a surprising portrait of resilience.
“Rocks” is mercurial, impulsive, and deeply sensitive – a beautiful and empathetic portrait of a girl at a turning point, which exalts the essential value of friendship.