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 2 wins & 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

Directorial debut of Dexter Fletcher.

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Quotes

Wild Bill: It's a choice. You might think you're only young, but you ain't. You're a man in my eyes and you've got to make a choice.

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Connections

Featured in Projector: Wild Bill (2013)

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Soundtracks

Do You Feel My Love
Performed by Eddy Grant
Written by Eddy Grant
Published by EMI Music Publishing Ltd
Courtesy of Mercury Records Limited (United Kingdom)
Under license from Universal Music Operations Ltd

User Reviews

Excellent!...

Really well made with the first-time director making full use of his actors and their surroundings to make a film that is great to look at as well as being a well put together drama. All the main characters were excellently played by Charlie Creed-Mills, Will Poulter (who I last saw in the (also excellent) 'Son of Rambow'), the young Sammy Williams and Leo Gregory. I should also mention Liz White as Roxy and Charlotte Spencer as Steph; both did a great job also. A film with great emotional depth that doesn't over-play the drama too much and I have to admit I really enjoyed it!

SteelMonster's verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My score: 9.0/10.

You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.