Lad: A Yorkshire Story (2013)

A teenage boy forms a friendship with a park ranger in the Yorkshire Dales after the death of his father.

Director:

Dan Hartley

Writer:

Dan Hartley

Stars:

Bretten Lord, Nancy Clarkson, Liam Thomas

8 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bretten Lord	...	Tom Proctor
Nancy Clarkson	...	Sarah Proctor
Liam Thomas	...	David Proctor
Robert Hayes	...	Nick Proctor (as Rob Hayes)
Alan Gibson	...	Al Thorpe
Molly McGlynn	...	Lucy Shean
Oliver Exley	...	Sean Ackerthwaite (as Oli Exley)
Nick Fawcett	...	Farmer Blight
Mario Demetriou	...	PC Stephen Baxter
Josephine Timmins	...	WPC Eccles (as Joey Timmins)
John Hayes	...	Quarry Foreman
Rita Davies	...	Bookshop Owner
Alex Froom	...	Postman
Richard Sails	...	Headmaster
Mitch Low	...	New Ranger

Storyline

A teenage boy forms a friendship with a park ranger in the Yorkshire Dales after the death of his father.

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Plot Keywords:

countryside | yorkshire dales | yorkshire | landscape | cinematography | 

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Taglines:

From the heart of a boy comes the story of a man

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 April 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lad: A Short Film

Filming Locations:

Settle, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$160,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film is dedicated to the memory of Al Boughen, 1933-2010, the real-life park ranger who inspired the character of Al Thorpe, and who was mentor to director Dan Hartley when he was a teenager, in the same way that Al Thorpe is to Tom Proctor in the film.

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Quotes

[Tom is working for Al, the National Park ranger. He doesn't want to be there and thinks it is a waste of time. Al shows him how to saw a length of wood for a new stile he is making]
Al Thorpe: You ever used a saw before, lad?
Tom Proctor: [sullenly] Maybe.
Al Thorpe: Aye. Come over here and I'll show you how.
[Al rests his hand on the wood with his thumb sticking out. He rests the blade of the saw against the tip of his thumb]
Al Thorpe: See how I use me thumb to guide it.
Tom Proctor: [horrified] I could cut me thumb off!
Al Thorpe: No you *won't*! Now listen! All ...
[...]

User Reviews

A fantastic, and very British, drama

"When Tom Proctor's dad dies, his world falls apart; his brother joins the army, his mum is threatened with eviction and Tom faces criminal prosecution after spreading manure over the local bank. All this changes however when Tom meets park ranger Al Thorpe in this inspiring story of two individuals overcoming adversity and finding true friendship."

The film is beautifully shot, and the landscapes alone are well worth 96 minutes of your time (Dan Mackie has won several awards for his cinematography in 'Lad').

The story tugs on the heartstrings in all the right places - you'll laugh, you'll cry, and above all you'll find the characters utterly compelling and believable. There's some wonderful comedic moments to counterpoint the emotional challenges facing the Tom and his mum, and Al's grand-daughter makes a very welcome appearance (certainly as far as Tom's concerned).

As a first time film-maker Dan Hartley does a brilliant job and the cast are both believable and engaging throughout, avoiding the trap of overplaying their roles. The film has won numerous awards at film festivals across the world and justifiably so.

I'm only sad that the film didn't find a mainstream distributor to get it into more cinemas.