Been So Long (film)

Been So Long is a 2018 musical film directed by Tinge Krishnan based on the musical of the same name, with a screenplay written by Ché Walker. The film is set in Camden Town, London, and scenes were filmed in Camden Market, Regent's Canal, and Primrose Hill.

It is based on a musical premiered at the Young Vic on July 11, 2009, which was itself based on the 1998 play of the same name.

The film was released on 26 October 2018 by Netflix.

Set in London’s multicultural Camden Town, Simone is a single parent caring for her daughter. Both smart and self-sufficient, she is focused at her hair salon job, and prioritises her daughter above all else. Simone is mostly content, albeit a little unfulfilled.

Best friend Yvonne believes Simone needs more of a life. As she has not dated for a long time, she insists they go out drinking to meet men. In fact, Yvonne badly needs a wing-woman to help her find one.

With Simone’s mother childminding, they head out to Camden, ending up at their old haunt Bar Arizona, now run by the late owner’s son Barney. Upon meeting recent ex-con, now street-cleaner, Raymond, Simone and he flirt over a game of draughts, suddenly wakening her from her sexless stupor.

The encounter proves to be fruitless for them both – but the seed has been planted, a combination of serendipity and mutual infatuation, a romance slowly blooms. their first kiss then they become more intimate,

While Simone and Raymond have their ups and downs, Yvonne connects with a courier who regularly delivers to her office job. She also helps Simone out with childcare.

One day, outside Simone’s daughter's school, her ex Kestrel appears. A reminder of Simone’s pain, he re-enters her life to get to know This threatens not only Simone’s relationship with Raymond, but also her friendship with Yvonne. Her trust issues isolate her, and instead of rejoicing in her new-found love, she ends up fearful, so has to learn to let people in again.

Raymond also has his demons, including his old friend, new-dad Wendell, and Gil, a young, troubled and wild knife wielding young man is stalking him; Raymond struggles in his own way.

The duet between Simone and Raymond – in a kebab shop – binds their romance, alongside other Londoners.

• Michaela Coel as Simone
• Arinzé Kene as Raymond
• George MacKay as Gil
• Joe Dempsie as Kestrel
• Luke Norris as Barney
• Arsher Ali as Jake
• Rakie Ayola as Martina
• Ronkẹ Adékoluẹjo as Yvonne
• Ashley Thomas as Wendell
• Sophia La Porta as Willesden
• Tom Forbes as Conrad
• Mark Wingett as Bailiff
• Genevieve Barr as Artemis

In May 2017, it was announced that principal production of the film had concluded in London, UK.^[1] In September 2017, Netflix bought worldwide rights to the film, in what was a "multi-million dollar deal", believed to be Netflix's largest single acquisition of a U.K. film in its history at the time.^[2][3]

The musical score for Been So Long was composed by Christopher Nicholas Bangs, and features music from the film’s stars.

The digital album was released through Virgin EMI Records on 26 October 2018.^[4]

It was released on October 26, 2018 by Netflix.^[5]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 92%, based on 12 reviews, with an average rating of 6.8/10.^[6] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 74 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[7]

• Been So Long at IMDb