Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

Don't Believe the Hype

Crappy film

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Maybe the name of Kira Knightley, after the world success of Pirates of the Caribbean was the main reason for this movie to be released as a DVD in the U.S. Even so, it's very interesting for whatever reason, to find this movie available and to have the chance to see an interesting British production. I said "interesting" but not really fully accomplished. The story is moving: an eleven year old kid who loves his young heroing addict mother and who fights for her recovery from drugs until he succeeds. Even so, the movie script makes nothing to make the characters sympathetic, especially in the case of Molly, the junkie mother. The kid, Harry Eden, is just a revelation (at least for me, though I have read that he is also exceptionally good in another movie called "Real Men") and delivers a realistic performing in every way, including his passionate and loving attachment to his mother. Unfortunately, the audience cannot see why is that mother so lovable and the fact that the kid gets "reunited" with her at the end seems awkward and off-putting instead of emotional. Come on, the kid is just another example of the typical subservient relationship that addict or drunk parents develop with their kids. A relationship where the kids "wash, cook and clean" and in short take on themselves the obligation (instead of being the opposite way) to take care of their addicted parent. What are the assurances that this sick manner of relating to each other is not going to be perpetuated, especially when, during the movie, we have not seen any other kind of relationship being developed.Besides that, the script fails miserably in the scene where the kid arranges the arrest of the drug dealer (David Wenham). Suddenly, without any explanation, we find out that the restaurant's owner is the big supplier of the drugs that have been used throughout the movie. Hey, that's just too easy and completely out of the blue. Besides that, the scene itself is just badly planned. Moreover, the final scene is just, to put it bluntly, stupid. Do you imagine social workers and relatives alike deciding by spontaneous voting if a "reformed junkie mother" should be reunited with her sons? Even so, the good sections of this movie become a delightful experience because of Harry Eden's acting, which is always believable, always realistic. Especially remarkable are the scenes when he has his first sexual approaches with the character of Keira Kneightly and when he tries drugs for the first time in his life. Here we have the most convincing line of the whole movie, and which is the only natural development of what his mother has been doing to him: "Now I am like you, mom."

A great deal of crime in the world is drug induced, so those of us who lead a sheltered life have little time for those who indulge in them. However, watching a film such as this does make one stop and think, that in itself reason enough to view.There but for the grace-etc. The performances of all concerned were truly amazing, I am used to Molly Parker giving her all, but this was acting at the highest level, Harry Eden was brilliant. Others have picked out performances, but I haven't seen Geraldine McEwan mentioned, terrific as Gran. Films like this don't usually get awards, all I can say is-they should. Wonderful stuff! (I have voted nine as I reserve ten for that elusive perfect one that comes along once in a while.)

A young boy fights to keep his mother off of heroin in this gritty but hopeful film about addiction and family. The mother (Molly Parker) is nearly hopelessly in the grip of the drug, and her supplier Lenny (David Wenholm) does his absolute best to keep her in line. At risk of losing her children to their paternal grandparents for neglect, she tries to go cold turkey, but in a weak moment starts using again. Her son Paul (Harry Eden) tries to prevent Lenny from selling her more drugs, trying to step in between his addicted mother and her supplier, much like law enforcement seeks to do with a drug hungry society and a vicious underworld market run by ruthless cartels. The scale of the problem is reduced to a personal level but is quite exciting as well as emotional. Keira Knightley's role as Louise, a heroin addicted waitress who's also Paul's friend, leads to a night when he convinces her to let him try it out in order to know how it feels. It's quite a scene, as we watch in horror as our underage hero stares the enemy straight in the eye.

Molly Parker is indeed convincing as the addict mother but the person who brings this film off is the boy who plays her son -- so it behooves us to get his name right. Harry Eden makes a brilliant debut in this difficult role. He is onscreen in almost every scene, with far more screen time than either Parker or David Wenham who plays the mother's supplier. His daily trials are grim but his ultimate resolution of them is cathartic.