Wonderful stuff- passionate,tender, fierce, reflective- Meadows hits the jackpot here with a searing account of a child searching for a father figure in the darker regions of Britain's underclass. The "me" decade of the eighties is brilliantly conjured up, and the fate of those who clearly weren't "one of us" smacks you between the eyes. You can feel the intensity of the director's vision and the commitment he gets from his young cast is amazing. Occasional rough edges in the dialogue and acting only add to the impact- you're not experiencing events and emotions through layers of Hollywood polish; this is England-this is REAL.
This film will make you laugh, cry and gasp no matter how desensitiesed you consider yourself to be. It does this through making the characters and the plot so lifelike and believable that you are drawn into that summer of 1983 in Preston. The portrayal of the characters beutifully explains why they behave the way they do and how they shape and influence each other.
Excellent perfermences all round, it would be a terrible shame to miss.
Understandable that this film has won awards - brilliant acting from especially Shaun, but certainly no light entertainment here. People who tend to be easily offended shouldn't probably watch - you are not spared any swearwords, however, the 18 certificate seems exaggerated, but maybe you need to be 18 to hear abuse like this in the UK? Unless you just happen to walk the street!