A Boy Called Dad

This is a drama about the father/son relationship. It follows Robbie a new 14 year old father whose disappointment with his relationship with his father leads him to make some wrong decisions concerning his new born son.

It is a well acted but bleak tale with an excellent performances from Kyle Ward as the young lad who wants to look after his son but is woefully under prepared for such a task. Ian Hart also does a good job as the stay away father that his son doesn't want to turn into.

A Boy Called Dad maybe would have benefited by following a more traditional path like the strong start of the movie as the situations that occur later are pretty implausible. As a result it does feel like this was a missed opportunity to create something really special. The middle of the film feels contrived but the ending I thought was pretty thought provoking and pulled the film back from disappointment.

This is a good small budget film and one I enjoyed and would recommend.

You don't have to have a child yourself to feel the emotion seeping out of every frame of this affecting film - everyone will relate to the themes of regret, responsibility and second chances.

A great performance by Kyle Ward, for his first film role he shows a real depth of emotion and surprising subtlety at times and Ian Hart in the role of his absent father is great as always.

An emotionally charged, and in places extremely funny, script combined with some breathtaking cinematography lift 'A Boy Called Dad' above many of its contemporaries. The result is a film that won't just tug at the heart strings, but will shear right through them. A simple story told with honesty and integrity; one that will stay with you long after you've left the cinema.

Boy Called Dad- How good it was to see a refreshing, moving and relevant British film, something I've not seen since other low budget films like "This is England and Trainspotting". This is a film with a genuine desire to tell a story, convey a message, entertain and educate all with such integrity. The script was imaginative and real, the acting first class with characters we all know from the street round the corner. To see a film that is shot around my own childhood haunts such as the sea front at West Kirby instead of some distant exotic location is exciting and very pleasing. I hope this film launches Made Up North Productions into the mainstream of the British film industry as it should. Well worth a trip to see if you have the chance.

Director Brian Percival manages to maintain an even keel between the social relevance of teenage pregnancy and keeping the audience grounded in a young boy's innocence.

Following this personal journey from boyhood to fatherhood is a captivating and precious experience that is sure to tug on your heartstrings.

Julie Rutterford's dialogue is spot-on and the acting is brilliant. Ian Hart gives a great performance as Robbie's dead-beat dad and Kyle Ward (14-year old Robbie) brings a genuine honesty and reality to this film.

This intimate drama is not to be missed and a story that should never to be forgotten.

I think that overall A boy called dad is a very deep and very enjoyable movie. At first glance the film seems to be about teenage pregnancy, but there are so many more aspects to it. Such as how the method of fatherhood gets passed down through the generations and how the protagonist changes as he takes care of his son. I thought that Kyle Ward did a great job as Robbie, you could see that he was capable of great compassion but at the same time he could get very angry, overall the standard of acting was high all round. The cinematography was very lush, they chose to go lightly on the colour correction which gave it a more realistic feel but it the shots still look fantastic and compel you to watch on. The story was well written and the dialogue felt natural and original which was great. I would have liked to have seen more of the mother of Robbie's son, we don't see much of her throughout the movie and we never hear any of her story which could be quite interesting. But the story is mainly about the four generations of this family. There are some points when I felt like I had no idea what Robbie's plan was or what he was trying to do which didn't really achieve the exciting effect it should have. But these moments can be forgiven, the rest of the story is very compelling and will keep you on the edge of your seat at the end. Overall I really enjoyed A boy called Dad, especially the ending which I thought was very clever.