It isn’t only records that Calvin (Elliot Edusah) wants to stop spinning in “Pirates,” suppressing his true feelings in his return home to the ICC in London where he can look forward to reuniting with his friends Terrell (Jordan Peters) and Kidda (Reda Elazouar) after a semester of uni. Still, he is far less eager to revisit the band the three formed in high school in spite of Terrell’s fervent belief that their demo could land a recording deal if only it made it into the right hands, targeting a New Year’s Eve party as the start of something even bigger than a calendar year for the trio.
It may be 1999 in Reggie Yates’ disarming feature debut, but “Pirates” has a timeless charm as well as a well-worn plot as the friends face an eternal question of what to do when they each want different things in life as much as they care for each other. These things aren’t in conflict with one another when Yates lets the inevitable reckoning sit largely in the background as Terrell, Calvin and Kinda go about scoring tickets to the Twice is Nice Y2K event, a circuitous route that involves Terrell’s ex Kelly (Rebekah Murrell) who was led to believe he had terminal cancer, as well as a new flame in Sophie (Kassius Nelson), who he hopes to kiss by the end of the night, and scheming their way through stops at the barber shop and a high-end clothing store with threads the 18-year-olds clearly can’t afford just yet to prepare for the evening ahead.
When “Pirates” starts with the guys dancing in front of a large bullseye background, it’s clear the party has already begun at least for the audience and Yates infuses the film with considerable verve, a visual flow that’s as smooth as the chemistry between Edusah, Peters and Elazouar. They make it easy to believe that Terrell’s faith in the professional aspirations of the group is warranted yet it is equally clear this is their last night together as a unit, with each tested individually by various obstacles, from a surly waitress at a Carribbean restaurant that gives Kidda the business over his pronunciation of “plantains” to Terrell manning up to a fellow club patron he once accidentally set on fire with the unfortunate combo of spilling a drink and lighting a cigarette.
Yates has a flair for staging increasingly absurd comic situations that nevertheless feel grounded in reality and in spite of a group dynamic that has powered any number of coming-of-age films as Calvin sees his future beyond where he grew up while Terrell believes it best to build on his roots, the small, enriching details make “Pirates” feel fresh. Terrell may have to wait a while for his own big break, but it certainly feels like it could be one for everyone involved in bringing this fun and wild night out to life.
“Pirates” will screen at SXSW on March 14th at 7:30 pm at the Alamo Lamar C and March 16th at 6:45 pm at the Violet Crown Cinema 2 and 7:15 pm at the Violet Crown Cinema 4. It will also be available virtually to SXSW Online badgeholders beginning on March 12th.
