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, an uncaring Bill is determined to move on. Although Dean the older boy has found a job and is doing his best to be a father to his younger brother Jimmy, the arrival of Bill has brought them to the attention of social services.
It’s a film with a lot of misdirected energy; happy to let familiar plot pills fizz away, but unwilling to really shake things up properly.
Yes, it’s another East End gangster movie/dysfunctional family saga, but it’s also a fresh, engaging debut feature, with an underlying suspense as we wait for the wild man to revert to pool-cue-wielding form and a streak of sweet, funny sentiment always in danger of being bottled by some nutcase.
In truth, the film comes close to collapsing as all these layers build up, but Fletcher pulls the focus back to Bill, Dean and Jimmy for a powerful conclusion.
Fletcher's drive and humour, a terrific performance from young Poulter, and a guest spot by Andy Serkis make you first intrigued then gripped as to how this Brit western will turn out.
Fletcher has fashioned a deft, likeable addition to a crowded genre.
Yes, it’s depressingly believable but it’s not depressing. Directed with flair by Fletcher, Wild Bill is more affecting family drama than conventional gangster pic and it’s an outstanding achievement.
The story won’t win awards for originality but Fletcher has created a film that’s both charming and true to life.
Why can't all British crime dramas be so well written and well acted, and have a splash of comedy as confident as this?
There’s more than enough good stuff here to whet the appetite for Fletcher’s follow‑up.
The big surprise is that this East End-set dysfunctional family-drama-cum-gangster film is properly charming, certainly much more so than its hybrid premise suggests.
What follows is smarter than your average working-class family drama.
Fletcher has assembled a strong cast, including Olivia Williams and Jaime Winstone as social workers, Andy Serkis as a council-estate Capone and Liz White as a tart with a heart, but it's in the vinegary wit of the script (written by Fletcher and Danny King) that the film most impresses: even the small asides and one-liners have a chuckle in them.
It’s lively with tense and comic moments and leaves a soppy smile rather than a heavy heart.
Full of quirky, absorbing characters and performances, Fletcher’s debut is a hugely enjoyable East End western and a lesson on how to avoid the excesses of the Brit-crim-com.
The dialogue mostly rings true, and Fletcher's fellow thesps have rallied to his side.
Wild Bill should be just another of the tawdry bloke-sploitation movies that the British film industry keeps foisting on us ... which makes it all the more cheering to report that it's the most affecting, funny, and sure-footed comedy-drama that we're likely to see this year.
Prodigal son meets likely lad
Will Poulter
General release. Check local listings for show times.
Glasgow Film Theatre, Glasgow from Tuesday April 10, 2012, until Thursday April 12, 2012. More info: http://www.glasgowfilm.org/theatre/
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