James Gillespie is a 12-year-old living in 1970s Glasgow at a time when the city is becoming full of stinking rubbish because of a dustmen's strike. He gets into a play-fight with another youngster, Ryan, in a canal, during which Ryan drowns. Seemingly unperturbed by this turn of events, James later sees an older girl, Margaret Anne, being picked on by a local gang of young bullies, led by Matt Monroe, and befriends her. A few days later, he decides to follow his sister Ellen to see where she goes when she gets on a bus. However, during the trip he is entranced by the sight of a new housing development which is being built on the edge of town. His dad is hailed as a hero when he rescues James' friend Kenny from the canal. There's great excitement on the estate when it's learned some tenants are to be moved to the new development; however on the day the housing inspectors arrive at James's to determine suitable new tenants, the place is in turmoil. James' dad is given a bravery award, but on his way home from the ceremony he stops to help a little girl with a kitten, an action which is seen by a gang of jeering young thugs who beat him up. In his shame, he goes home and hits his wife.
Review:
Unusual, bewitching look at the life of a young boy in the early 70s that takes the ingredients long familiar from films of that period and works a subtle magic on them; a confident debut from Lynne Ramsey, with a startlingly assured central performance from young William Eade.
