Not just another miserablist kitchen-sink drama, writer-director-actor Peter Mullan’s third feature film, Neds, is both a vivid portrait of a specific time and place—early ’70s, working-class Glasgow—and a study of a fairly universal coming-of-age crisis. “Neds” are “non-educated delinquents,” which the protagonist is bound and determined not to become at the start of the film. After graduating primary school at the top of his class, John McGill (played as a pre-teen by Gregg Forrest) enters a secondary school ruled by violent gangs and by teachers quick with a belt. Meanwhile, at home, his father (played by Mullan ...
- 9/7/2011
- avclub.com
Director: Peter Mullan Writer: Peter Mullan Starring: Conor McCarron, Gregg Forrest, Louise Goodall, Joe Szula Non-Educated Delinquents -- you know the youthful ruffians who continue to infest Britain's cities and towns, prowling around like packs of wolves, wreaking havoc upon their economically-ravaged estates. Today they are caricatured by some British media outlets as "Hoodies", and they exemplify the nation's evil that David Cameron and his ilk used as political leverage to overtake the Labour Party in the 2010 elections. Writer-director Peter Mullan's Neds begins in Glasgow in the early 1970s, as John McGill (Gregg Forrest) graduates junior school at the top of his class. Summer comes and goes and John arrives at St. John's only to discover, much to his visible dismay, that he has been placed in the school's second-tier 1A2 class. The headmaster informs John that if he becomes one of the top two students in the 1A2 class come December,...
- 4/23/2011
- by Don Simpson
- SmellsLikeScreenSpirit
Peter Mullan’s last film, the award-winning The Magdalene Sisters (2002), was about vulnerable young women suffering oppression and brutality at the hands of some over-zealous nuns. With his latest effort Neds (2010), he presents sarcasm, cynicism and the oft-wielded strap as the chief weapons of Scottish educators – at least in the state school sector. These men are not monsters – they’ve simply grown weary of the procession of thugs, insubordinates and Neds (Non Educated Delinquents) passing through their classrooms.
The setting is Glasgow in the early 1970s, a period in which utilitarian concrete and T. Rex are more in evidence than the stylings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. John McGill (Gregg Forrest) leaves his junior school top of the class and with high hopes. His optimism is short-lived when local thug Canta (Gary Milligan) delivers a starkly worded warning about the kind of rough treatment he can expect from his new classmates.
The setting is Glasgow in the early 1970s, a period in which utilitarian concrete and T. Rex are more in evidence than the stylings of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. John McGill (Gregg Forrest) leaves his junior school top of the class and with high hopes. His optimism is short-lived when local thug Canta (Gary Milligan) delivers a starkly worded warning about the kind of rough treatment he can expect from his new classmates.
- 1/21/2011
- by Daniel Green
- CineVue
Magdalene Sisters film-maker swapped the casting couch for Fight Club to find the young cast for his gritty semi-autobiographical tale
Do we get paid for this?" Christopher Wallace, Aka "Wee Man", has everyone in stitches as the cab pulls up outside the Glasgow Film Theatre. The other four kids in the car, despite being media novices, know the answer already; they won't be getting a penny. Inside the cinema, a huge cardboard cutout greets them. The image on it is stark and confrontational: hammer-wielding thugs in Crombie coats and Harrington jackets. The tagline spells out the message: "Some people need to be taught a lesson." The kids inspect the standee keenly; it's their faces that are on it.
The film is Neds, the third feature to be directed by Glasgow actor Peter Mullan, and it draws heavily on Mullan's youth. Starring newcomer Conor McCarron and set in the 1970s, it...
Do we get paid for this?" Christopher Wallace, Aka "Wee Man", has everyone in stitches as the cab pulls up outside the Glasgow Film Theatre. The other four kids in the car, despite being media novices, know the answer already; they won't be getting a penny. Inside the cinema, a huge cardboard cutout greets them. The image on it is stark and confrontational: hammer-wielding thugs in Crombie coats and Harrington jackets. The tagline spells out the message: "Some people need to be taught a lesson." The kids inspect the standee keenly; it's their faces that are on it.
The film is Neds, the third feature to be directed by Glasgow actor Peter Mullan, and it draws heavily on Mullan's youth. Starring newcomer Conor McCarron and set in the 1970s, it...
- 1/15/2011
- by Damon Wise
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.