Step (2017)

Step tells a tale that you've seen before a dozen times. It's the story of disadvantaged kids being lifted up by the efforts of the teachers at a high school, while competing for a dance competition - with this being their final chance of winning, having lost every previous attempt.

The main difference here is that it's a documentary - and unlike all those films telling of a similar struggle, there's no writer who can guarantee a happy ending.

Chronicling the senior year of a Baltimore High School for inner-city girls, the story focuses mainly on three of the girls, showing their family lives and academic struggles, as well as the work leading up to their Step competition - although by the end of the film, it's clear that Step is only the backdrop to the real tale and the question of whether the school can live up to its promise of ensuring that every girl is accepted into college.

As a social document, it provides a glimpse into the lives of those who have to fight to achieve. To paraphrase one of the teachers, the girls are doubly-disadvantaged by both race and gender (and you can throw in social demographic for good measure).

As a piece of entertainment, it hits all the right notes. The audience in the cinema where I watched this applauded at the end - that might not be unusual for cinemas in the US - but this is England. We don't applaud films.