Scum

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.

Scum is an unforgiving portrayal of both physical and psychological abuse of the British borstal system; 1 hour and 30 minutes. The movie explores the borstal's hierarchy, analyzing both the wardens and the inmates ' actions and responsibilities, asking who is the worst. As Carlin (Ray Winstone) joins the borstal, the hierarchy is shattered. Carlin says he's looking for' no trouble,' but he's just as pugnacious or even more skullduggerous than the others. Scum describes the angry resentment of inequality in' correctional' institutions, much like' Cool Hand Luke' or' One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.' Personally, I find few things worse than power abuse, whether in an institution or in a family. I'm sure that many would agree with me on that, and then make Scum an engrossing, resonant, and uncomfortable watch for everyone. Archer's protagonist, an articulate and apparently committed vegetarian who's out to make life difficult for the screws, delivers fragments of Roy Minton's script that beautifully examine the process and the angry men who staff these institutions-" Even though you've spent your life in jail, you're still just a simple cop. Now, who's got the stick for that? Us. Who's paying for that every day. Scum achieves what it aims to accomplish through convincing performance and blunt realism: portraying the reprehensible conditions of terrorism, discrimination and bribery in these institutions. One might wonder if the movie exaggerated these circumstances, but in 1982 government abolished the borstal scheme, replacing it with' Youth Custody Centres.' I assume it speaks volumes for the reputation of Scum.

Be warned that you should go into this film with your guard up. By the time the final scene has faded quietly out, you will probably be in a state of shock.

The film details life in a Borstal institution and the violence and racial hatred that runs rampant through both the prisoners and their wardens. There is nothing cheery here at all and that is precisely the point. Director Alan Clarke deliberately films with a documentary style and it is this realism that makes the film so shattering. Scenes of sexual and racial abuse are placed in front of the camera and no raw nerve is spared the touch of the film.

It should be shown to youngsters as a reason not to turn to crime.

I've now seen this movie several times, although admittedly watching it can hardly be classed as a 'pleasure'. Alan Clarke made this feature after his TV play from two years earlier was banned, and perhaps had more freedom here to explore the issues.

Carlin (an early, showy appearance from Ray Winstone) is sent to Borstal where he quickly establishes himself as a tough boy with a regime of strength. Typical Winstone performance in many ways. In the prison with him are his shadow Richards (played by Phil Daniels); cynical, bare-footed Archer (Mick Ford, these days more often seen the other side of the law in such dramas as 'Silent Witness'); black inmate Angel (Davidson Knight); and quiet Davis, the boy who gets picked on for being a loner (a quite staggering performance from Julian Firth, who never really lived up to this early promise).

Scum is uncompromising - violent (there's a rape which leaves little to the imagination, a suicide, several fights); scathing in its condemnation of the 'system' (which thankfully is not like this now) - and yet finds time for character development and convincing plot. Without any music it is purely presented in documentary style, matter-of-fact 'this is how it is'.

Not a fun movie, but one which tries to make a point, and, if nothing else, has the power to shock and make you remember certain sections for a long time after viewing. Recommended.

I'd had the opportunity to watch Scum a long time before I actually did, and I was always turned off it by the very sensationalist box and taglines. I've never been a fan of "The film they tried to ban" and similar phrases being used as advertisement for a film, so when I sat down to watch the film today I was very surprised.

It doesn't need phrases like that to advertise it - it's bleak and horrific, and should be advertised as a serious drama rather than some kind of exciting gore-fest. As well as being powerful and thought provoking, it's gripping too, and you won't feel bored when watching it. Although there is a lot of stuff crammed in there, and some scenes are very prolonged, at just over and hour and a half it's the perfect length to achieve what it sets out to do. This is one film you won't be bored watching.

I'm actually surprised that this film doesn't have more of a recognition or following nowadays, and isn't seen in the last light as Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" and Lindsay Anderson's "If...".