The Fence

Watched The Fence, an truly great film last night.

Rating 18 (X) due to a bit of glue sniffing; I normally don't watch 18 films, but no issue with this one; at home I'd happily let a 14 year-old see it).

Good thought-provoking viewing for adults of all ages, perhaps especially interesting for those who remember the economically-tough 1980 's as the film is set on a council estate in 1980's.

British made & filmed. This director's first full-length film, but you'd never guess.

A true story, this gritty 1980's film reminded me of The Full Monty.

I strongly recommend going to see The Fence. I saw it at Showcase, but a good choice for arts cinemas and indies too.

"Steven" (David Perkins) tries to help his mum get by, by working for a local butcher and then flogging a few illicitly caught trout to a local restaurant now and again. The dad (Neil Berrett) is pretty much a waste of space and his brother "Andrew" (Eugene Simon) is only just out on parole - adding to the headaches of their mother "Sharon" (a few, brief, appearances from Sally Phillips). "Steven" is quite a decent cove as it happens, and has saved up for his dream motorbike - well, it's more of a glorified moped, really. Anyway, he buys it, takes it for a hurl, leaves it outside his house and it's pinched. The police don't care, so he and his brother decide to track it down - easily done as it happens - and that puts in train a series of rather predictable, sometimes comically violent, daft escapades as the brothers tackle the local bullies, the local kingpin and make it clear that their family is not one to be messed with. It helps that it is set in Bristol - a more genteel environment for the cast on screen here. This would not have worked in a gritty, more working class city, but here you can overlook the "posh-boy" elements of the casting and just enjoy what is a quite well written and decently directed low-budget feature. The ending is a wee bit farcical, but there's familial chemistry to be seen here and the acting, though not likely to garner a BAFTA, makes for an engaging look at a family looking out for each other. No, you won't remember it afterwards - but it is worth a watch and you're bound to recall some of the music if you were around in the eighties.

I loved this film, I found it spot on with the humour and a great cast of characters all portrayed perfectly with brilliant acting.

OK, as a Bristolian who was around Hartcliffe, Withywood and Knowle West in the 80s I may be slightly biased. It was all the harsh realities of life on those estates but with the adding of a rose tint and great soundtrack.

The accents were generally acceptable if not perfect, the settings we're authentic if not always the actual location they were portraying.

The producers have done a great job of capturing a fun story and making a quality enjoyable film. I just hope it gets a wider audience rather than just a word of mouth and local audience.

Full credit to the writer.

Loved the short film.

The feature length was even better .

Took me right back in time with music , costumes , venues , felt right at home watching this.

Excellently filmed and superb casting .

Very believable .

Seen it twice now and will definitely be going again.

Nice to be a cinema that was packed out and everyone laughing and applauding at the end .

Everybody I know who has seen this have all loved it .

Everyone involved should be extremely proud of themselves.

Was perfect from start to finish.

For a low budget film I must say this was much better Than some of the big budget films I've seen on Netflix and other film channels.

Bring on the next one that's what I say William Stone .

A star in the making for sure.

I like the idea behind it and the acting was good and believable. Set early 80s i'd assume. It's a comedy drama I reckon and there were some wry touches to make you grin and some good bits of script. The story maybe a bit long winded and there were several sad bits but it moved along well and matched my expectations. I kept watching the film, even though expecting maybe, just a half an hour try out. I'd watch it again and the music tracks are good.... The actors were pretty much unknown to me so there's a certain freshness to the screen which makes a nice change. All in all a good and worthwhile watch.