Scum (1979)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Alan Clarke

Writer:

Roy Minton (writer)

Release Date:

12 June 1980 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama | Crime

Tagline:

The film they tried to ban! A brutal story of today.

Plot:

This is the hard and shocking story of life in a British Borstal for young offenders. Luckily the regime has changed since this film was made...

Plot Keywords:

No Music | Gay Interest | Male Rape | Rape | Greenhouse

Cast

Ray Winstone	...	Carlin
Mick Ford	...	Archer
Julian Firth	...	Davis
John Blundell	...	Banks
Phil Daniels	...	Richards
John Judd	...	Mr Sands
Philip Jackson	...	Greaves
Peter Howell	...	Governor
John Grillo	...	Goodyear
Ray Burdis	...	Eckersley
Alan Igbon	...	Meakin
John Fowler	...	Woods
Bill Dean	...	Duke
P.H. Moriarty	...	Hunt
Nigel Humphreys	...	Taylor

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Germany:16 (re-rating) (2006) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:18 (1980) | UK:18 (video rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Berwick Street Productions

Trivia:

The film has no music score.

Goofs:

Continuity: when Carlin enters the 'games' room for the first time he passes three lags playing snooker. the score board on the wall behind them changes between one score and another and then back and then back again.

Quotes:

Richards: You can learn a lot in here if you use your loaf.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Scum EPK Interviews with Clive Parsons & Roy Minton (1999) (TV)

A raw, powerful film

STAR RATING: ***** The Works **** Just Misses the Mark *** That Little Bit In Between ** Lagging Behind * The Pits

Tough thief Carlin (Ray Winstone) is transferred from his previous borstal after assaulting a prison officer to a much tougher institution where force and fear is the ultimate currency. The film follows the fortunes of him and the other inmates there and Carlin's relentless quest to come out as 'the daddy' among the other hard-case cons...

Nowadays, many people complain about the shambolic state of British Justice (once the envy of the world!) and, significantly, how Young Offenders Institutions are now just converted holiday-camps for those sent there who scoff at their lamentably lame punishment. Yet the very purpose of this film, made over 20 years ago, was to show the abuse of human rights that was taking place at the time in the borstals in Britain and to get something done in the way of changing it.

Having chosen a crime-free life in my youth and thus never being sent to a borstal (and not knowing of anyone who did!) I would have no way of knowing if the events portrayed in this film really took place, but if they were as bad as this, the film very chillingly gets them across. It's another one of those cult films where there's no real actual plot (i.e. Trainspotting) par se, but in it's drama function it very involvingly depicts the trials and tribulations of the inmates in their struggle to survive in the oppressive, violent world of the borstal and their individual characteristics that ultimately determine whether they'll come out on top or not. The bleakness of their world is further emphasized by the film's clever absence of a soundtrack.

As for the performances, Winstone cemented his future success with his ground-breaking performance here as the foul-mouthed, hard-cased, cockney to the bone 'daddy' who fights to come out on top in a world of aggression. All of the supporting cast do wonders in their individual roles do wonders to, especially those portraying the prison officers who are not far separated from the very thugs they're meant to be controlling.

Scum is a film that is thoroughly deserving of it's cult status, a film that spurned those in power into action and, though dealing with issues that are nowhere near as bad as back then, is no less as shocking and disturbing. *****