Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Just what I expected

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There must be less than one in a thousand that make it with the background of Kevin, the protagonist of this movie. And he does it with the help of his own story only, which, of course, would quickly wear thin if it was told by millions, which, of course, is the reason why so few of these stories are published.Why not tell the story of one who did not succeed, the story of the 999 others? Well, such a story would not glorify the system that produces these stories, now would it? If you take the story of teen Kevin - now, there was a good story that ringed true! The first half of this film is a 10. The second half, I would like to describe as a -10 if I believed in negative numbers, which I do not.And for all of those who do not understand what I am saying with this review because they are not very used in thinking at all, I give a hint. It's a pyramid, you see. And it's a pyramid because that stabilizes power the best. And in a pyramid you see, one has to climb down from above to let one from below climb up so that the pyramid stays the same. Got it? Get it. Good!

Don't know where i was when the book came out, can't remember any hype or fuss about it, but apparently there was, but no matter, i've seen the film now, and it's quite simply brilliant! I didn't even know it was a true story till the end, and what a story. Some of the early scenes depicting Kevin's abuse are painfully breathtaking, so uncomfortable to watch, and this is partly due to Natasha McElhone, almost unrecognisable as his bitter, angry and repressed black-toothed mother. The story chugs along in a way that never lets up, you're always interested in whats coming next, and when finally the credits rolled, along with a feeling that i wished i was just starting it all over again, to see Nick Morans (Lock, stock and 2 smoking barrels fame) name as director, didn't shock me as much as excite me, if he can even come close to this again, it'll be worth watching. Summing up, great acting throughout, great direction and with a nostalgic 80's soundtrack, if ya like your films gritty, edgy and ultimately 'hard to watch' in places, then this is for you! My film of the year so far!

In contrast to the other reviews I must say that this film was surprisingly bad. I am not sure where it went so wrong really, but it is probably the casting. I just could not see one person that was actually believable in his/her role. The mother of the boy was just so badly acted I felt actually embarrassed in the cinema. Also I think they could have done much better with the casting of the lead. I am not from UK, but the poor people from the council estates where the characters came from do NOT sound like some posh Chelsea public school prick. He was much better in the Pride and Prejudice. Only character that was even slightly OK was the guy that played the Kid in his early teens. I actually could see that kid being abused at home. All in all the film fell flat on many occasions, too many stereotypes, too many things we have seen already.After an hour I felt so board I started playing with my phone.I know I may sound like a overly negative person, but I go to movies 2 times a week and don't remember the last time I walked out on the movie before the end. Unfortunately The Kid was the case... 3 points for the effort though as obviously someone worked on this film, but I would never recommend this to anyone....

A great story well handled by Director: Nick Moran, who guides us through the life of the main character Kevin Lewis. The film is set in the 1980's and early 90's and looks and feels right with camera work and film lighting that supports the storyline. However, it is Rupert Friend's performance that sets the high standard for this film. The character is carefully observed to provide a man who is not aggressive but can explode when pushed. For me the biggest achievement is that the film deals with violence and in no way glamorises it.Why would you go and see this film? Because it is a story of a mans survival thoughtfully made and performed and the temptation to make it into a 'Lock Stock' fairytale has been resisted.