"You take after your granddad. No words, just dribble and puke." A grandmother tells her teenage daughter's baby "Shearer". Mark Herman's follow-up to his excellent Brassed Off and Little Voice, is a gritty slice of contemporary Geordie life. This Four Film production introduces newcomers Chris Beattie (looks like a miniature Shearer) as Gerry and Greg McLane as unemployed Sewell. They're on a seemingly impossible mission to raise the £1000 for season tickets to see their beloved Newcastle United. While they think up increasingly outlandish money-making schemes - from selling household junk to shoplifting and the odd bit of housebreaking - real life begins to inferere. Gerry's violent and alcoholic father (Tim Healy of Auf Wiedersehn fame putting in a memorable 'orrible performance) forces his way back into his family's life. Like Herman's previous features, Purely Belter is laced with bittersweet comedy and some stunning dialogue ("No Alan [Shearer], not Celine f***ing Dion"), but it somehow lacks the emotional cohesion.
