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I remember seeing this TV movie when it was first aired as part of BBC2's 'screen:play' series back in 1993, and it had quite an impact on me. Not only was it one of the few films I'd seen addressing the problems of homelessness, but it had some powerful performances, most notably by Robert Carlyle (the first time I'd come across this talented actor) and the much under-rated Kate Hardie (who gave a memorably impressive performance in Peter Medack's 'The Krays' (1990)). The film dealt with the subject of homeless people in a compassionate way, but avoided the saccharin-induced sentimentalism you would expect of a Hollywood production, opting for more of a gritty, slice-of-life drama in the vein of Ken Loach, Mike Leigh or Alan Clarke. Other notable appearances in the film included George Costigan ('Rita, Sue & Bob Too', 1986) and Steven Mackintosh ('Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels', 1998). The film also marked the feature-length debut of director Antonia Bird, who'd previously worked on television series such as 'Eastenders', 'Casualty' and 'The Bill', but would later direct films like 'Face' (1997) and 'Ravenous' (1999), as well as the US production 'Mad Love' (1995) starring Hollywood icon Drew Barrymore. It's a shame that dramas like this get forgotten about and left to gather dust on studio shelves; I doubt it's ever been screened again since it's first transmission a decade-and-a-half ago and as far as I know it's never had a video release (I had it taped on Beta-max at one point but my player has been on its last legs for some time!). If you ever do get the chance to see this film, though, it's well worth a look, even if just to see the early work of some of British cinema's more significant names.
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