After 8 years inside Bill Hayward returns home to find his now 11 and 15 year old sons abandoned by their mother and fending for themselves.
Dean the older boy has found a job and is doing his best to bring up his younger brother Jimmy, but the arrival of Bill has brought them to the attention of social services.
With the danger of being put into care looming, Dean forces his Dad to stay by threatening to grass him up for dealing. He agrees to stay for a week to fool social services that the boys are being cared for.
Bill quickly connects with Jimmy and through this new bond starts to realise what he's been missing. He has a family, he is a father.
However, their happy family is short lived when Jimmy gets into trouble with Bill's old cohorts....
You would be forgiven, if you thought this was just another one of those kitchen sink type London dramas that arrived ten a penny after the arrival of one Guy Ritchie.
And while this has similarities to many of those films, thanks to Fletchers great direction, and the genius portrayal of the titular character by Miles, this is one of those rare cases where a British film about a criminal trying to go straight, despite his past catching up with him, is very, very good.
It helps too that the chemistry between the screen family is solid, and it's pretty believable. Apart from the typecast white guy who thinks he is of a different ethnicity, its very believable, the villains are to your typical wide boys, and it's very funny and sweet in places.
It's a shame that it does carry the burden of an atypical Brit crime flick, but it's a very powerful family drama, that carries emotional depth, and a very funny streak throughout.
Recommended.
Dean the older boy has found a job and is doing his best to bring up his younger brother Jimmy, but the arrival of Bill has brought them to the attention of social services.
With the danger of being put into care looming, Dean forces his Dad to stay by threatening to grass him up for dealing. He agrees to stay for a week to fool social services that the boys are being cared for.
Bill quickly connects with Jimmy and through this new bond starts to realise what he's been missing. He has a family, he is a father.
However, their happy family is short lived when Jimmy gets into trouble with Bill's old cohorts....
You would be forgiven, if you thought this was just another one of those kitchen sink type London dramas that arrived ten a penny after the arrival of one Guy Ritchie.
And while this has similarities to many of those films, thanks to Fletchers great direction, and the genius portrayal of the titular character by Miles, this is one of those rare cases where a British film about a criminal trying to go straight, despite his past catching up with him, is very, very good.
It helps too that the chemistry between the screen family is solid, and it's pretty believable. Apart from the typecast white guy who thinks he is of a different ethnicity, its very believable, the villains are to your typical wide boys, and it's very funny and sweet in places.
It's a shame that it does carry the burden of an atypical Brit crime flick, but it's a very powerful family drama, that carries emotional depth, and a very funny streak throughout.
Recommended.