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Neds

Neds

Peter Mullan

  • Country: United Kingdom, France, Italy
  • Year: 2010
  • Language: English
  • Producer: Alain De La Mata, Marc Missonnier, Olivier Delbosc
  •  
  • Screenplay: Peter Mullan
  • Runtime: 124
  • Programmes:

Set in 1970s Glasgow, this film tells the story of a shy and intelligent young boy who, through a series of circumstances, turns into a NED - a non-educated delinquent. Attending a new school, he becomes increasingly violent and aggressive, all the while searching for a way out.

United Kingdom,  Coming of Age & Youth,  Violence,  Drama

screening times

    • Saturday September 11
    • 5:30:00 PM
    • VARSITY 8
    • Sunday September 12
    • 10:30:00 PM
    • SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
    • Saturday September 18
    • 12:00:00 PM
    • SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3

Note: indicates Premium Screening.

official description

Peter Mullan’s Neds functions as a kind of companion piece to his earlier The Magdalene Sisters. Scotland has replaced Ireland, the year is 1972 not 1964, and Mullan hones in on the adolescent male as opposed to the female. But both films share the same focus: the unsentimental education of teenagers who expect a better future. In Neds we follow the story of a fresh-faced, innocent young boy who is surprisingly and gradually transformed into a NED – a non-educated deliquent.

Shy and reticent, young John is initiated into the rough world of a new school. Local bullies lurk at every intersection and make his first days hell. He also has to shrug off the reputation his older brother had made at the same school. Expelled for excessive violence, Benny is now a wild rebel, but his reputation comes in handy at key moments when his younger brother is in danger of being beaten up. John is an intelligent and engaged lad but, as he learns to navigate the waters of his new environment, he takes a turn for the worse.

As Neds jumps ahead in time, the older John has turned into a violent teenager, eager to dole out punishment to those who tormented him in earlier days. It doesn’t help that his father is a wild alcoholic, given to angry bouts of verbal abuse. As John attempts to deal with his family and friends, he only seems to dig himself into a deeper and deeper hole. Will there be a way out?

Mullan’s style is kitchen-sink realism pushed to the limit. Others have been here before, but he brings a gritty verisimilitude to every moment of this often dark and despairing portrait of troubled youth. Ironically, we never lose our sympathy for John, despite the depths to which he descends, and Mullan once again proves that his skills as a director match those as an actor.

Piers Handling

director bio

Peter Mullan was born in Peterhead, in the northeast of Scotland, and studied economic history and drama at the University of Glasgow. As an actor he has appeared in Danny Boyle’s Shallow Grave (94) and Trainspotting (96), Mel Gibson’s Braveheart (95) and Ken Loach’s Riff-Raff (90) and My Name is Joe (98), for which he won the best actor award at the Cannes Film Festival. He directed several short films before making his feature directorial debut with Orphans (97), followed by The Magdalene Sisters (02), which won the Discovery Award at the Festival, as well as the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival. Neds (10) is his third feature.

full credits

Principal Cast: Peter Mullan, Louise Goodall, Marianna Palka, Conor McCarron, Gregg Forrest
Producer: Alain De La Mata, Marc Missonnier, Olivier Delbosc
Cinematographer: Roman Osin
Editor: Colin Monie
Sound: Kahl Henderson
Music: Colin Armstrong
Production Designer: Mark Leese
   
International Sales Agent: Wild Bunch
Production Company: Bluelight
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