Ssdd
2010, 88 minutes
Same Shit Different Day
SSDD: Same Shit Different Day (2010) is a British independent feature film from the critically acclaimed team behind The Plague (2004) and Kapital (2007). Lee (Samuel Anoyke) has been out of prison for only four months and is already cracking under the pressure of looking after his mum and raising his daughter while coping with the death of his baby brother Darren. His only relief from the stress and nightmares is workmate Phil (Richard Oldham) who during their night shift job enlightens him with tales of the good old days of the Poll Tax riots and copious cups of tea. Today is the day that Lee decides to face his demons from the past, a lifestyle he has tried to put behind him but it's the only way he can find out the truth of how a good kid like Darren got murdered. His only hope is Jermaine (Isaac Ewulo), who he once considered family, but due to certain circumstances they haven't spoken for two years. Today will change all that. By his side Phil tries to survive another day in recession hit London, from squatting empty estates, skag heads pinching his electricity to meeting up with his mate Rick (Paul Marlon), a dedicated street fighting anti-fascist and librarian, for pints at the local. The evening is spent in the Magpie Pub run by matriarch Lynn (Clare Barry) and her barmaid Sophie (Angela Hazeldine), a middle class drama student, in the back streets of the old East End - a crevasse of England still not touched by the continual gentrification where Union Jacks fade on the walls from nicotine stains and tales of the past. It is in this small corner of Britain, within the four walls of the Magpie Pub, that these relationships play out between Lee, Jermaine, Phil, Rick, Sophie and Lynn. Love, hate, anger, laughter, tears, passion and insecurities all get an airing. That is until a terrorist attack strikes London. Written, Directed and Edited by Greg Hall, retaining both a social realist approach with a twist of comedy and marking a mature step forward for the award winning auteur.
