Wild Bill (2011)

A street-toughened parolee finds his two boys abandoned by their mum and fending for themselves. Time to step up, or not.

Director:

Dexter Fletcher

Writers:

Danny King, Dexter Fletcher

Stars:

Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter, Sammy Williams

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Charlie Creed-Miles	...	Wild Bill
Will Poulter	...	Dean
Sammy Williams	...	Jimmy
Iwan Rheon	...	Pill
Charlotte Spencer	...	Steph
Rain Ryan	...	Baby George
Marc Warren	...	Adam
Peter McCabe	...	Roland
Morgan Watkins	...	Viktoras
Radoslaw Kaim	...	Jonas (as Rad Kaim)
Aaron Ishmael	...	Boz
Liz White	...	Roxy
Hardeep Singh Kohli	...	Raj
Neil Maskell	...	Dickie
Leo Gregory	...	Terry

Storyline

Out on parole after 8 years inside, Bill Hayward returns home to find his now 11- and 15-year-old sons abandoned by their mother and fending for themselves. Unwilling to play Dad, an uncaring Bill is determined to move on. Although Dean the older boy has found a job and is doing his best to be a father to his younger brother Jimmy, the arrival of Bill brings them to the attention of social services. With the danger of being put into care looming, Dean forces his feckless dad to stay by threatening to grass him up for dealing. If there's one thing Bill doesn't want it's to go back to prison. He reluctantly agrees to stay for a week to help fool social services that the boys are being cared for. Having never really grown up himself, Bill quickly connects with Jimmy and, through this new bond, starts to realize what he's been missing. He has a family, a place in the world. He is a father. However, their happy family set-up is short lived when Jimmy gets into trouble with Bill's dangerous...

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Plot Keywords:

abandoned child | drug dealer | release from prison | parole | reference to simon cowell | 

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Taglines:

Charlie Creed-Miles is...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

Дикий Билл

Filming Locations:

Isle of Wight, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

20ten Media,STS Media

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Andy Serkis' character (Glen) says, "Oh! Riddles. I like these." Andy Serkis, who, of course, is well known for his portrayal as Gollum. And in, Hobbit; The Desolation of Smaug, Gollum mentions that he likes riddles.

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Quotes

Wild Bill: [discovering his youngest son's been helping sell crack] First year's the hardest.
Jimmy: What?
Wild Bill: Yeah that's what they say. "First year's the hardest." It weren't for me. Second year, that was the real killer. First year you can still remember the world - your home, your pals, Sunday roast, what it's like to take a dump without someone watching you. Second year, that's when the hope starts to leave ya. No one left to trust. No one you really like 'cause you're in prison. Everyone's a criminal. They all ...

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Connections

Featured in The EE British Academy Film Awards (2014)

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Soundtracks

Car Smoke
Performed by Jackademus
Written by Jack Fletcher
Publishing Copyright Control
Master Recording Courtesy of Jackademus

User Reviews

Brit film making at its best

Oh Dexter Fletcher! How I have your name engraved in my mind for all eternity from when I was a little boy watching 'Press Gang'. An iconic name for those of my generation and British acting. He managed to appear in many a film but never a leading man but now tries his hand at directing.

I think Mr Fletcher may have found his way of breaking out by stepping behind the camera. What we have here is a very well written and directed film debut about a man who is released from prison and finds himself looking after his 2 sons whose mother has abandoned them.

It isn't an exciting film as this is a drama with some light humour thrown in. It's quality British film making where we go and take a peak at something which is more than likely true to real life.

Many familiar fine British actors are recognisable in this film and Mr Fletcher no doubt had no trouble in bringing out their finest performances as I'm sure he's probably friends or familiar with them. This makes viewing the film as if watching real life.

So, if you want to take break and watch something engaging then do so by watching Wild Bill. The performances are great (Will Poulter will be a star one day), the story is realistic and gritty and the direction for a first timer is spot on. This isn't the type of film you'll watch repeatedly but the type you'll be glad that you've seen the once.