by Rick Famuyiwa
Malcolm sports a trapezoidal haircut, brightly coloured clothes and listens to his favourite hip-hop music. His friends Jib and Diggy find it cool – the rest of his high school think he’s just a geek. But the only thing this intelligent young man wants is to escape ‘The Bottoms’, the city district where he lives, which is full of dope heads and small-time criminals. Having been raised by his single mother, the African American fights against prejudice and dreams of studying at Harvard. But is it possible to break out of this environment in a respectable way? After appearing in the wrong place at the wrong time, Malcolm finds himself with his backpack full of molly – but maybe the stuff is good for something after all…