County Lines poster

2020·90 min·Released

County Lines

Drama

A powerful drama about a mother and her fourteen year old boy who is groomed into a lethal nationwide drug selling enterprise, a 'County Line', which exploits vulnerable children and traffics them across Britain.

6.7(31 votes)

Popularity1

Videos

Trailer

Cast & Crew

Conrad Khan

Conrad Khan

Tyler

Ashley Madekwe

Ashley Madekwe

Toni

Tabitha Milne-Price

Tabitha Milne-Price

Aliyah

Harris Dickinson

Harris Dickinson

Simon

Marcus Rutherford

Marcus Rutherford

Sadiq

Anthony Adjekum

Anthony Adjekum

Laurence

Chizzy Akudolu

Chizzy Akudolu

Sophie

Ebenezer Gyau

Ebenezer Gyau

Deontay

Johanna Stanton

Johanna Stanton

Izzy Merlo

Carlyss Peer

Carlyss Peer

Bex

Stephen Leask

Stephen Leask

Mr Matthews

Micah Loubon

Micah Loubon

Khalid

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CinemaSerf

Written on 7/20/2024

If you're not in the know about drug trafficking parlance, then the title won't mean much - but that's not so important as we get to know "Tyler" (Conrad Khan). He lives with his drop-out mum "Toni" (Ashley Madekwe) and young sister. His school life is pretty torrid and despite efforts from the teachers and his mother to help, he remains introspective and prone to violence. Then he meets "Simon" (Harris Dickinson). He's a chavvy sort of guy, black Mercedes and plenty of cash to splash - and he doesn't overtly try to recruit the young "Tyler". He waits patiently for him to come to him - and that's when the spiral begins. He can make easy money by shipping narcotics from the city to the more rural punters where supply is more limited and more lucrative. What "Tyler" doesn't realise is, though, he's just a pawn in a game - and "Simon" is using loads of other lads like him to keep him in clover. It's the increasingly stark realisation that his choices are going to leave him battered, high and dry that gets us to a denouement that is predicable, but quite potent. Dickinson does quite well as the charmingly malevolent pusher with a big smile and a ruthless streak a mile wide, Madekwe also performs strongly as the mother who must get her act together to protect what is her's - but essentially this is a story about a young man with little hope and a hell of a lot of frustrations and Khan plays that role assuredly. At times the audio mix isn't the best and coupled with their dark and dingy flat can make the film a little difficult to follow at the start, but those same filming techniques also contribute to the general bleakness of the plot.

Media

Mark Kermode reviews County Lines (2020) | BFI Player

Mark Kermode reviews County Lines (2020) | BFI Player

BFI At Home | County Lines Q&A with director Henry Blake and actors Conrad Khan and Ashley Madekwe

BFI At Home | County Lines Q&A with director Henry Blake and actors Conrad Khan and Ashley Madekwe

County Lines clip - on digital and in cinemas 4 December | BFI

County Lines clip - on digital and in cinemas 4 December | BFI

Trailer

Trailer

COUNTY LINES clip | BFI London Film Festival 2019

COUNTY LINES clip | BFI London Film Festival 2019