Wild Bill
Starring: Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter, Liz White, Sammy Williams
Director: Dexter Fletcher
Rating: 5/5
Dexter Fletcher moves behind the camera for the first time this week as he makes his directorial debut with Wild Bill.
Not only has he shown that he is an exciting directing talent to watch out for but he has delivered one of the best British movies that we will see this year - trust me when I say this is a real gem of a film.
Out on parole after 8 years inside, Bill Hayward returns home to find his now 11 and 15-year old sons abandoned by their mother and fending for themselves.
Unwilling to play Dad, his arrival brings them to the attention of social services. With the danger of being put into care looming, Dean forces his Dad to stay by threatening to grass him up for dealing.
Dean soon connects with Jimmy and through this new bond starts to realize what he's been missing.
He has a family and a place in the world, but when Jimmy gets into trouble with Bill's old cohorts, he quickly has to decide what kind of Dad he wants to be. A good one, or a free one.
This really is an engaging movie from start to finish that is brimming with very complex and interesting characters.
And it is the strength of the writing and the development of those character that really makes this movie stand out.
Charlie Creed-Miles puts in a great turn as Bill, a character who you can't help but sympathise with throughout the whole movie.
Thrust into parenthood that he doesn't really want he learns that the greatest joy in life is in the home and not on the streets.
But the stand out performance for me in this movie has to be Will Poulter, who plays Bill's oldest son Dean, in what is his most grown up role to date, despite the fact that he is playing a teenager.
He is such a conflicted character of half boy and half man where he has had to step up to the plate and take care of his younger brother in the absence of a parent.
He is an angry and frustrated character and Poulter finds the perfect balance of someone who just wants to be a normal teenager but knows that he has got to be an adult.
And it's through Dean's shining example of responsibility and finding a way to survive against the odds that Bill learns what it takes to be a parent, and the joy that comes with it.
There is also a great performance from Liz White as the hooker with a heart and there are some fab cameos from the likes of Jason Flemying and Andy Serkis.
Fletcher has delivered an unfussy film in the terms of style as it feels very gritty and very real, not to mention that the Olympic Park backdrop really does work a treat.
But there is a delicate sense of menace that hangs over the whole film and you feel that Bill is in danger with ever step that he takes on this tough estate in East London.
This is not your average run of the mill gangster type movie as Fletcher brings a new and fresh vibe to this genre.
But this film is not about gangsters and guns at its heart this is a family story that is incredibly poignant and heartfelt.
Wild Bill is a fantastic directorial debut from Fletcher and he is a directing talent that we should all be keeping a close eye on.
Wild Bill is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Will Poulter Dexter Fletcher