Ashley Walters reunites with Stephen Graham in the must-see British drama Animol – our 5-star review

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The prison system unfairly targets certain people due to prejudice, making it easier for them to end up incarcerated. When these experiences are portrayed in movies or TV, it’s common to see tired, predictable storylines or even harmful stereotypes instead of authentic representation.

Rather than avoiding difficult topics, Animol directly addresses them with a realistic and comprehensive portrayal of life inside a young offenders institute. It doesn’t shy away from showing violence and prejudice, but it also highlights moments of humor, kindness, and even love.

The film opens with Troy (Tut Nyuot) immediately facing danger, even before he fully enters the prison that will likely be his home for years to come. He’s quickly harassed by one inmate and receives daily death threats from another in the same cell, leaving him in a precarious and discouraging situation.

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Inside the van, Troy meets Krystian, a Polish inmate, and the two quickly try to protect each other. They navigate a tense dynamic with subtle power plays while also building a connection. It’s difficult, though, because space is scarce and everyone constantly has to make sacrifices.

Initially, the movie seems to follow a familiar prison story formula, but like its intentionally misspelled title, Animol, it quickly becomes something much deeper and more meaningful than expected.

A lot of this success is thanks to director Ashley Walters, who overcame a difficult past – including spending a year and a half in a young offenders’ institute – to become a well-known rapper, actor, and now, a director.

Walters explained to Deadline that his first film was deeply personal, aiming to explore the challenges he faced growing up. He wanted to address what it was like being a young Black man in London, navigating ideas of masculinity without strong male figures to look up to, and feeling misunderstood by a system that quickly categorizes boys instead of supporting them.

Similar to Walters’ acclaimed series Adolescence, Animol fearlessly examines the rawest, most unrestrained sides of masculinity. The challenges Troy faces are impossibly demanding, and he struggles to maintain his identity in a world determined to strip away his true self and his aspirations.

Similar to the film Adolescence, this movie bravely explores the harmful side of traditional masculinity and hints at how it could be redefined, even within such a brutal and chaotic environment.

Walters explained, before the film’s debut at Berlin, that he didn’t want to create another movie focused solely on sadness. Instead, Animol aims to find moments of humor, kindness, and optimism, showing that even in difficult situations, the human spirit endures.

The film is filled with a gentle sensitivity. You see it in quiet moments, like when Troy struggles to sleep, and in unexpectedly funny scenes, such as Krystian’s self-deprecating joke about his arrest. The latter half of the movie contains some truly powerful scenes that it would be best to experience without knowing what to expect.

That gentle side of Troy also appears when things are difficult, like when he resists his mother’s belated affection or when he bravely chooses a difficult path to safeguard someone he loves.

The storytelling skillfully balances intensity with empathy, confronting difficult moments head-on while always acknowledging the pain that motivates the characters’ choices in this harsh world. Each performance is carefully crafted to feel authentic and emotionally raw, portraying the characters’ struggles to survive with honesty and realism.

Baliuk immediately charms with his kindness, offering a welcome warmth in a cold and unforgiving world when he first encounters Troy.

Dion could easily have been a stereotypical villain, fitting the usual image of a criminal mastermind. However, Sekou Diaby’s portrayal is more nuanced. He avoids simple labels of good versus evil, suggesting a complex character driven by desperate self-preservation, with a subtle, knowing look.

However, this film truly showcases Nyuot’s talent. Following strong performances in smaller roles for Netflix’s Steve and last year’s The Long Walk, the British actor shines in this film, bringing remarkable sensitivity and even, at times, literal dance moves to the role.

Troy is deeply troubled inside, mirroring the chaos around him. This isn’t just visible in his expression, but in everything he does – he’s tense and guarded, but still capable of being gentle and connecting with someone who earns his trust.

Honestly, what really makes this story hit so hard is Nyuot’s performance. He brings so much emotion to the role, and I think it’s a huge reason why everything just works so well. He’s the heart of it all, really.

I have to say, Nick Love really knocked it out of the park with this script – it’s honestly his best in ages! It was cool seeing something he wrote instead of directed, and he plays with your expectations in a really clever way. You think you know where things are going, and he totally throws you off course, but in a way that avoids all the predictable tropes you’d expect. It’s a really refreshing take.

It wouldn’t be a truly British story about growing up and challenging traditional ideas of manhood without Stephen Graham. He’s teamed up again with his former Adolescence co-star, Walters, and together they’ve created something equally compelling.

While not the main character, Graham provides a welcome sense of hope amidst the intense struggles the others face. The story culminates in an ending that could have easily felt forced, but the talented cast and crew deliver a truly inspiring conclusion.

Prison stories often feel familiar, but shows like Sing Sing, Stephen Graham’s Time, and now Animol offer fresh perspectives on the harsh realities of incarceration. What’s particularly powerful about these shows, and this one especially, is the way they find hope and strength in unexpected places – through kindness, connection, and even love – when things seem utterly hopeless.

The film Animol is particularly impressive because it offers a fresh and unusual perspective on the typical prison story, something we don’t often see.

Animol premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. It does not yet have a UK release date.

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2026-02-16 20:20