The Kid (2010)

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Interview: Nick Moran and cast

Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels star Nick Moran has been moving more and more towards directing lately, and if the rest of his work is as good as this harrowing biopic, then you won't hear any complaints from me. A truly touching film, with stellar performances from pretty much everyone involved, this small, but engaging adaptation on the memoirs of Kevin Lewis is difficult watching at times, but ultimately hugely uplifting.

Rupert Friend plays the teenage and adult Kevin Lewis; a sensitive young man who had a life so difficult, it makes Precious look like an episode of Blossom. Subject to unrelenting mental and physical abuse at the hands of his mother (an unrecognisable Natascha McElhone), Kevin grows up introverted and somewhat naive. Bouncing from foster home to foster home, he finds kindness in the form of Bernard Hill's social worker, Ioan Gruffudd's teacher and James Fox's foster parent. A kind soul at heart, even as an adult he is taken advantage of for other people's gain. But Kevin is tough and smart and just needs a break to fulfil his true potential

One of the first things to strike you about The Kid is the unassuming style it's directed with. From a subtle, but impressive opening credits sequence, to the rendering of a late 70s and early 80s working class area, Moran makes every frame of the film feel authentic. It's never rammed down your throat and the characters are always what you notice, but whatever film stock was used, it really captures the 80s grain of TV and film of the time. Moran also coaxes strong performances out of his cast; McElhone is impressive, as are Gruffudd and Hill, but it's a fantastic lead performance from Friend that should see the plaudits deservedly head his way.

Certainly a triumph over adversity tale, and one that has been told before in different guises, it's the heart that is put into The KId that makes it resonate. Everyone here obviously had a strong connection to the material; but Moran's direction isn't as ostentatious as something like Precious, which just makes it feel more real. Clearly a director to watch now, he obviously knows how to handle actors and deals with difficult material with aplomb.

Touching, funny and tragic, this is one of the best British films in recent memory.