Review of Neds (2007) by Mikey M — 29 May 2011

Set in the 70s, this Glasgow drama hinges on a young boy living the tightrope between educational success and gang culture. Mullan has previously proved to be a clever director and his work on this film once again shines through - a canny screen dynamic that exposes community depravation through wickedly humorous scenes.

Some of the scene progression did perhaps lack a little cohesion for the character driven narrative though and what stopped it being a wholly important film for me was its retrospective ambition; another British throwback film that seemed to want to say something about social issues, but the relevance to 'now' was hampered by the setting.

This particular story also felt like it was almost covered already in the shape of 'Small Faces'. But that said, NEDS is hugely engaging, it bristles with energy and is absolutely worth seeing.