County Lines

County Lines is a British drama about Toni, a single mother, and her fourteen-year-old son Tyler. After a fight at school, Tyler is drawn into a drug-dealing network run by Simon, a neighbourhood criminal, that moves narcotics from the cities into rural areas and relies on vulnerable children to do the work. As Tyler becomes more deeply involved, the film follows the pressure this places on him and on his relationship with his mother.

The film was written and directed by Henry Blake, working from his own screenplay, and produced by Victoria Bavister and David Broder through Two Birds Entertainment and Loupe Films. It runs 90 minutes and belongs to the recent wave of British social-realist drama. Conrad Khan plays Tyler and Ashley Madekwe plays Toni, with Harris Dickinson as Simon and supporting turns from Tabitha Milne-Price, Marcus Rutherford and Anthony Adjekum. Twenty-six cast members and fifty-four crew are credited.

County Lines was released on 4 December 2020. On IMDb it holds a rating of 6.9 from around 1,800 votes. On TMDB its rating is 6.6 from a much smaller base of about 33 votes, so that figure reflects a limited sample. The two scores sit fairly close together, indicating broadly similar responses from the audiences who have logged the film.