Though an overwhelmingly dreary experience, Scottish director Lynne Ramsay's debut feature is beautifully done and a worthy addition to the canon of youth
in extremis films that includes THE 400 BLOWS and KES. Glasgow, the not-too-distant past: A garbagemen's strike has entered its third month, and the run-down housing block where 12-year-old James Gillespie (William Eadie) lives with his parents (Mandy Matthews, Tommy Flanagan) and sisters (Michelle Stewart, Lynne Ramsay Jr.) is brimming with rotting trash and crawling with rats. The neighborhood
bullies pass the time hunting vermin with sticks, cajoling 14-year-old Margaret Anne (Leanna Mullen) into having ...
Released:
1999
Rated:
NR
Length:
94 mins