I have seen this film once, and that should be enough for many people, yet they probably will have an urge to see it again and see the actors who are now making bigger, slicker movies (Cat off Red Dwarf in Blade 2 and Ray Winstone in everything!)
As it is about people around my age, this film hit me even harder. The rape scene counts as being the most sickening scene in movie scene history, yet it is all integral to the story. It is extremely bloody, racist and yet moving and heartbreaking. Ray Winstone is a cruel revelation as a top dog,a sympathetic yet violent hoodlum. Never been better since, I think.
The film moves at a breakneck speed and never seems to sag. I don't know what those employed at a borstal will think of it, but it would probably make them think more of the broken-down urchins as human.
A hard film to like, but even harder to forget. If I was rating it, a 3/5. I think I would give it a five if it wasn't so stomach-churningly realistic. Violence in films can be entertaining, but on no account this time.
