Well Deserved Praise

Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

I was so disappointed when I put this disc into my machine. The dialogue is dubbed in Standard Scots!! Even though in many cases it's the original actors supplying the dialogue, it still sounds very strange. Native Scots will find this difficult to watch due the strange accents. Accents that sound very unnatural. Accents that are neither Kelvinside nor Morningside. I have not made it to the end of this DVD because the dubbed soundtrack is so annoying and off putting.The distributor missed a trick with this release. The American DVD release of Gregory's Girl has two soundtracks – English and Scottish. They could have done the same with A Sense of Freedom.Let's hope that STV release this drama in its original form.

A brutal Man. A brutal system. This is the true story of hardman Jimmy Boyle based on the tough streets of the Gorbals in 1970,s Glasgow. A hard hitting story of a man who,s loan sharking and racketeering eventually leads him to prison where his anti authoritarianism is met with rough justice by the prison wardens. This low budget film proves that money and special effects need not be the key in mastery

The true story of Jimmy Boyle, one of Scotland's most notorious troublemaker's. This movie gives the viewer; 1. A glimpse into the harsh reality of growing up in one of Europe's toughest neighbourhood's, the "Gorbells" in Glasgow, Scotland, and; 2. It shows the 'Incredible' strength of one man's spirit. Jimmy, use to run small time protection rackets and the usual 'Gangsterism' that goes with, that is until he's caught and sent to prison. Everybody feared Jimmy Boyle, and I understand why, Boyle was one hell of a nasty character and you will see why, but that was no excuse for the brutal punishments this Human being received once imprisoned. He was actually in solitary confinement longer than any other person on record or "in the movies", but that's just one of the punishments Jimmy receives in prison. This movie will bring you through all the emotions that "Midnight Express" did. I actually prefer 'a sense of freedom' because of it's low budget and realism, and it's portrayal of one man's strength of spirit to defy condititioning by way of extreme brutal punishment inflicted upon him by the British Judicial System, this guy would not give in, until they did, unbelievable, you gotta' see what this guy went through. One of my favourite parts is when Jimmy is at His Mother's funeral, so sad, and the line "you'll see, jimmy" J.B. replies "you'll see,!? you'll see f*#k'all without your eye's." Ouch!. Jimmy Boyle still lives in Glasgow, he houses and counsels homeless and drug addicted teenagers.

Peter McDougall, British televisions most unfllinching writer, skilfully avoids making this a message-movie or an adaptation in a traditional sense. It is partly fictionalised, as it is not a story about criminality, it is about Boyle, a man with a will of iron who defies all society's attempts to dispose of him, and eventually reforms through compliance not defiance. David Hayman is very convincing and there's a wonderful cameo from Hector Nichol as a gatecrasher at a party. The violence is noticeably a long time coming. McDougall never needs to throw as many shocks in as possible, but brings in whatever is needed when it is needed. The icing on the cake is Frankie Miller's score and John McKenzie again showing he can film violence more truthfully than any other director. Wonderfully honest for STV, the emotion reaches more grim levels than McDougall's previous BBC works. Hayman plays the death of his mother and his contemplation of suicide beautifully, but most impressive is his curled up, wounded animal figure on the cell floor saying his name over and over again. This is the way to make a television film.