Review by Justin Bateman
Stars Conor McCarron, Joe Szula, Mhairi Anderson,
Gary Milligan, Marianna Palka, Gregg Forrest,
John Joe Hay, Martin Bell
Written by Peter Mullan
Certification 18
Runtime 122 minutes
Directed by Peter Mullan
I saw this first thing in the morning at the London Film Festival and I’ll be honest, it was a tough watch at that time of day. Frankly, whenever you see NEDS (non-educated delinquents) it won’t be all sweetness and light but despite this it is well worth watching for a numbers of reasons. As harrowing as it is, there’s something riveting about this tense, violent study of 1970s Glasgow.
John McGill (Forrest) is an exemplary student, in stark contrast to his older brother Benny (Szula) who only lives at home “sometimes” and is often in trouble with the police. As John moves to senior school he is still focused on his studies but as he grows older (played for the most part by Conor McCarron) he gets inexorably drawn towards the life on the streets with the local gangs.
Aside from the at-times impenetrable Glaswegian accents on display, Peter Mullan’s third film as writer-director has much to recommend it. Largely episodic in structure but with an overall story and character arc, both of which seem as inevitable as they are depressing, NEDS is a tightly written film with well-drawn characters. Few if any of them are without flaws but this is vital to the tension which is present virtually throughout. In fact, the constant threat of brutal, bloody violence is one of the reasons this is such a terrific cinematic experience.
It also helps that the cast is uniformly excellent, with McCarron’s John gaining in confidence before reaching a turning point of his own in which religion and family matters are to the fore. Speaking of which, his father is played by Mullan himself as a tortured alcoholic who is by turns terrifying and pitiful. As a comment on society, NEDS poses some difficult questions. As a social drama, it’s an enthralling and powerful piece of cinema.