Adulthood (stylised as AdULTHOOD) is a 2008 British teen crime drama film written and directed by Noel Clarke. The second installment in the Hood Trilogy, it is a sequel to 2006's Kidulthood and stars Clarke, Adam Deacon, Scarlett Alice Johnson, Femi Oyeniran, Red Madrell, Jacob Anderson, Ben "Plan B" Drew, Nathan Constance, Cornell John and Danny Dyer. In the film, Sam (Clarke) tries to change his life following a six-year prison sentence for killing Trife but a new gang led by Jay (Deacon) intend to avenge Trife by killing Sam.
Plans for a sequel came around following the success of Kidulthood. Menhaj Huda, who directed the first film, turned down the opportunity to direct Adulthood, which prompted the studio to hire Clarke, in his directorial debut, to helm the film. Production began in November 2007 in West London.
Adulthood had its world premiere at Leicester Square on 17 June 2008 and was released three days later. The film received generally positive reviews and was a box office success, grossing £1,203,319 during its UK opening weekend, with an overall gross of £6 million, becoming the second-highest grossing British film of 2008.
At the 62nd British Academy Film Awards in 2009, Clarke won the BAFTA Rising Star Award, making him the first black person to accept the award. After starring in the film, Adam Deacon decided to write and star in his own urban film, Anuvahood. The final film of the trilogy, Brotherhood, also by Clarke, was released in 2016.
Plot
Six years after being jailed for killing Trevor "Trife" Hector, Sam Peel is released from prison. During the course of the film, it is revealed that Sam, haunted by his crime has changed dramatically and has learnt from his mistakes. Visiting Trife's grave at Oak Park cemetery, Sam is attacked by Trife's cousin, Jehvon, who is seeking revenge on Sam for killing Trife. Sam is later able to gain control of the fight and beats him into submission. Jehvon informs him that he will not survive the day, as many people want him dead – and will stop at nothing, not even harming his family.
Sam, troubled by these claims, goes to his house and breaks in. No one is home, so Sam bandages up his wound. He then has a flashback to his prison days which reveals he helped a high ranking prison mate escape an attack from Trife's uncle, Curtis. Sam then goes into a room, goes through the drawers and picks up a gun which he discards, then leaves. As Sam later visits Claire and asks for information regarding his mother, he says he won't hurt her, but Claire says she has not seen his mother in over a year, and also tells him that Mooney is at university. Then Claire's boyfriend Hayden arrives, and attacks Sam when he realises who he is, berating him for all the emotional damage he caused Claire six years ago.
Sam then visits Moony and asks for information regarding anyone who might hurt his family. He says he has changed, however Moony reveals that he should be wary of Jay as he has changed for the worse. He also tells him that Sam inspired him to study law, so he can make sure people like him do not go free in 6 years. Sam then speaks to Becky's cousin Lexi, hoping that she might have some information.
The scene then shifts to Omen, with Dabs and Henry robbing a car in broad daylight. They take what they have stolen to Ike's house to sell and are given money by Ike, who leaves to sort out some business. It is revealed that his partner is Andreas, whose face was cut in the first film by Trife. Ike and Andreas concur that he got what he deserved, as he tested Curtis's patience and suffered the consequences. Ike burns his customer's arm and beats him up to teach him a lesson for making money behind his back on his gear.
Jay is later seen selling drugs to customers. When a rich man tests him, Jay robs him and his fiancée and humiliates him. He receives a call from Jehvon informing him that Sam is out, so he releases the couple. He seeks help from Ike, who gives him a gun. Then Andreas suggests hiring some of the teenagers to kill Sam. Dabs is called into the room and eventually agrees to do it for £6,000. Jay makes it clear that the others must not see Sam's face when the murder happens. Dabs tells Henry about the plan. Not willing to kill a man, Henry tells Dabs not to go through with it. A scuffle happens and Dabs hits Henry over the head with a brick. Later, Dabs and Blammy meet Omen and tell him about the job. Omen agrees after Dabs lies that Sam was the one who hurt Henry.
