Review of Purely Belter
Year: 2000 Reviewer: Chris Docker
Another English comedy set in a deprived area (this time Newcastle) from the director of Little Voice and Brassed Off. The plot follows two teenagers as they try to raise enough money for two season tickets for their favourite football club - by legal or illegal means. One of them is relatively bright, although illiterate, and the other hopelessly thick. The film is funny and hits a few original notes, and the ending is quite neat (however unrealistic) but the acting lacks conviction and the movie has none of the integrity of, say The Mighty, nor the charm of the more accomplished (if also more formulaic) Billy Elliot. It really does seem that Mark Herman can only write and direct one kind of movie. The thing about the movie that moved me most was not anything about the story itself, but rather that it reminds the audience that there are thousands of children in such sad circumstances and worse - a sad reflection on us as a nation.
Rating: 5/10
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