GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Zandra The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

SnoopyStyle Tiny Arbor Fenton (Conner Chapman) has a big bark. His best friend Swifty (Shaun Thomas) is big and quiet. Both boys are from dysfunctional families. At the railyards, they witness Mick steal cable and nick it for themselves. They sell it to the local scrap dealer Kitten (Sean Gilder). The boys get suspended from school after Swifty gets picked on and Arbor starts the fight. They scrounge for scraps and even steals. Kitten has horses that he races in illegal road races. Swifty is good with horses and Kitten wants him to race. Arbor is left out. Arbor keeps pushing to steal live high voltage cable. Events unfold leading to tragic results.The setting is glum. The boys are terrific. It's a dark story that can't be anything other than resulting in tragedy. This is a very good indie. I just didn't like the horse part of the movie. It feels unreal and out of place from the rest of the movie. The race feels fake. This is a movie that survives by its gritty realism. The horse racing aspect takes me out of the movie. The relationship between the boys is deep. It's a good little indie.

snidgeskin The two leads, as unknowns, are superb, as are all the child actors in this.Of the adults it is clearly led by the performance of the three lead female actors (four: I should include the school receptionist). But this film has such an almost documentary feel about it you can forgive any of the acting that may feel a little strained or unnatural (perhaps because of a lacking in the script?).There are some wonderfully emotionally funny scenes equally matched by ones of sadness. People often use words such as grim, depressing or bleak. But this is Britain as it is; which is about looking for the humour and humanity beyond the circumstance of living. If you haven't been in Britain, then you might be forgiven, if you live here then maybe you have been sheltered: This is really how life can be; but it is far more a story about a boy's journey to manhood.As a statement on modern society then it speaks volumes to say that nothing is different now as from when it's 60's counterpart Kes was made, or for that matter in anytime in our history.But for me it won on all levels for it's such strong sense of humanity, on Arbor's journey of discovery, which was lacking, somewhat, in Kes.

Chris L The Selfish Giant is in line with the purest British tradition of social cinema à la Ken Loach, relying on classical, overused yet still striking, themes such as poverty, unemployment and the social link.But while the tireless Englishman manages to create a story around those themes and to (relatively) renew himself, Clio Barnard's approach remains very primary. The plot lacks grip and stakes, we've seen the situations a million times before, the characters can't be more typical and ultimately the scenario doesn't offer anything that hasn't been tackled, often in a better way, in other productions. Basically, every characteristic of the genre is excessively emphasized which sometimes gives the impression to be watching a parody.However, the story still does the trick because it is sincere and the good direction coupled with good acting make The Selfish Giant an above average movie yet too banal to really stand out in a saturated genre.

billcr12 Two adolescent boys in working class England travel together with a horse and cart and gather up scrap metal to sell to a local dealer. The kids are extremely resourceful, and figure out ways to steal cable and set it on fire to melt the covering for the resulting copper. The guy who buys it all has no morals whatsoever and eventually it results in a very bad outcome which shocked the hell out of me. The only problem I had is the very Cockney English accents which I had trouble understanding. British audiences will get more out of this film than I did as an American. I could have used subtitles to get every line. Even with that caveat, I would recommend The Selfish Giant for the excellent cast and interesting story.