Big boys don't cry

This is an extremely difficult but I think necessary watch. It depicts the horror of abject physical, mental, and emotional violence, and abuse, torture and evil neglect on innocent children in a care home. It is extremely hard-hitting and pulls no punches in the recounting of Paul Connolly's story.

Michael Socha gave an exemplary performance in his portrayal of the tragic childhood that Paul endured and his nightmares in adulthood as a survivor dealing with lifelong trauma that can only ever be managed but never cured.

The director was superb in showing the viewer the resilience that Paul was able to find amidst his pain, tremendously helped by the love of his wife to be, who took the time to listen and understand and for which kindness, empathy and love can move mountains.

I wept when she hugged him as this may well have been the first time he had ever been given tenderness of any kind. From that point onwards he was able to be safely vulnerable and tell his story.

Thank You Paul for doing so and shedding light to that part of mankind that must NEVER remain hidden...

This was one of the most difficult and hard hitting films that I've ever watched. The cast was fantastic but WOW, Michael Socha as adult Paul was absolutely bloody amazing. This is an 18 rated movie and I really think that this should be brought down as as uncomfortable as this film was to watch I believe that youngsters of today, even those in the system should see this and know what others have been through and should not be written off in life because of the choices they make in later life due to such horrific abuse. I'm so glad I watched to the end and saw the "real life Paul" and his story in the credits. I hope he feels that this has told his story as brutally honest as it was and that he finally, if possible, gets some form of closure. I wish him nothing but love and happiness. X.

I'm sorry, I hardly ever write a negative review because as an aspiring filmmaker I know how much time, effort and money people put into independent productions, but it has to be said this a great opportunity missed.

I feel sorry for the two leads as I've seen them before and know how natural and talented they are at acting, but it goes to prove you can't outact a badly written script.

The dialogue is cheap and corny and as a person who came from this background I can tell you this is not authentic in the slightest. I don't know for sure but I can only assume the director and writer did not come from this background and tried to make a project about a subject that they knew nothing about.

It's full of cliches and grinding repetitive cutaways in a desperate attempt to create artistic symbolism. You will know what I mean when you watch it.

The movie has huge pacing issues too and jumps back and forth between past and present for reasons best know to no-one except the writer. An experienced script supervisor would have been money well spent on this production and more money spent in the sound design as overall it the lack of it makes everything seem bland and boring.

Overall it comes down to bad direction from a badly written script. Hopefully they can learn from their mistakes for their next production. But then again they got it on Netflix, so what do I know 😊

Michael Socha deserves an Oscar for this performance. He makes you feel every bit of the character he's portraying and the unheard voices of those he's not. The performance is incredible. The film doesn't drag whilst it gives an insight into the character and the many layers to a troubled character. It explores a very harrowing theme in a way that is hard to watch, but ultimately a must see for audiences everywhere. I am sure many watching will be able to relate, as I was, to the harsh environments of the 70's and 80's that have not been talked about enough. However, the mistreatment of children in care still occurs today. On a large scale.

This true story tells a difficult subject that is painful yet compelling to watch. From the opening scene it is difficult to take your eyes of this film that holds nothing back depicting the savage way institutions back in the day we're allowed to abuse there positions on looking after young children. It is not an easy watch but then a true story of such savage consequences never are. The film shows however the strength of a young boy who against all odds survives and able to bring this to life on the big screen. Fantastic performances by the leading actors with a great support cast including a young Paul.