Glasgow, 1973. On the brink of adolescence, young John McGill's about to start secondary school.
Dir: Peter Mullan / Scotland / 2010 / 124 mins / Cert: 18 / Language: English
Starring: Conor McCarron, Gregg Forrest, Joe Szula, Mahari Anderson, Gary Miligan, John Joe Hay and Peter Mullan
He's a bright, sensitive boy, eager to learn, but the cards are stacked high against him. The McGill family is poor, his father a drunken bully. His teachers - punishing John for the 'sins' of his older brother Benny - are down on him from the start.
And then there are the gangs, the NEDs- Non-Educated Delinquents. Bad boys with weapons and attitude: cheap drugs, glam rock, fumbling sex, the violence and the camaraderie of the streets. John takes to the savage life of the streets with a vengeance.
But as his rage and frustration spin him further and further out of control, he is left facing a blank wall and one extraordinary chance of redemption.
