Interesting if flawed social drama, which focuses on the relationship between a 10-year-old boy, Paul (Eden) and his junkie mother Mel (Parker). Told from Paul's perspective, we bear witness to the crumbling of his world as his father dies and his mother becomes dependent on heroin, robbing her child of the love he so desperately craves.
After reading the above, you don't need me to tell you that Pure is an intense piece of cinema. The material is reflective of the works of Ken Loach and his fellow chronicler of the kitchen sink, Mike Leigh, and McKinnon shows a keen interest in dissecting the foibles of the human condition. Where he falters is his inability to sketch out any other relationship in the film as fluidly as he does between mother and son. If this wasn't his intention, McKinnon could have stripped the film down, intensifying it even further by placing all of the emphasis on this curious bond. Further, the director lacks the courage of his convictions - after setting up an interesting premise, he balks at following it through to the natural conclusion in the final third. But the two central performances are the heart of Pure and young Harry Eden, in particular, is deeply convincing.
