Wild Bill

Oh Dexter Fletcher! How I have your name engraved in my mind for all eternity from when I was a little boy watching 'Press Gang'. An iconic name for those of my generation and British acting. He managed to appear in many a film but never a leading man but now tries his hand at directing.

I think Mr Fletcher may have found his way of breaking out by stepping behind the camera. What we have here is a very well written and directed film debut about a man who is released from prison and finds himself looking after his 2 sons whose mother has abandoned them.

It isn't an exciting film as this is a drama with some light humour thrown in. It's quality British film making where we go and take a peak at something which is more than likely true to real life.

Many familiar fine British actors are recognisable in this film and Mr Fletcher no doubt had no trouble in bringing out their finest performances as I'm sure he's probably friends or familiar with them. This makes viewing the film as if watching real life.

So, if you want to take break and watch something engaging then do so by watching Wild Bill. The performances are great (Will Poulter will be a star one day), the story is realistic and gritty and the direction for a first timer is spot on. This isn't the type of film you'll watch repeatedly but the type you'll be glad that you've seen the once.

I'm so sick of American films portraying the English with stupid posh accents and houses with access to a rooftop that somehow overlooks the whole of London. This is a proper English film about proper English people. Good movie.

Dexter Fletcher's directorial debut "Wild Bill" is a proper piece of British kitchen sink drama for the 21st Century - a quasi-western, set in modern London, which draws on influence from the likes of "Unforgiven" and "Shane" whilst taking its snappy dialogue from something like "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" and doing everything a film feeding off the story telling cues of classical Hollywood cinema ought to. Additionally, and perhaps controversially for our era, the film dares to impart the idea that family is important and that not all men are vile useless pigs, (although they can still be pretty unpleasant), but are able to care; love; feel and clean up the mess the woman this time left behind.

Charlie Creed-Miles plays the eponymous 'wild' Bill, actually the name research tells me of a real-life American cowboy from the old West, who has served eight years in an Isle of Wight prison and has returned to the only other place in the world he knows: East London. What he returns to is nothing short of a mess: his two children, now 11 and 15, are living by themselves having had their mother walk out on them with a new man. Jimmy, his youngest, is failing school on account of not even attending, while Dean has already had to drop out to support the pair of them and now works on a construction site helping to build the 2012 Olympic Stadium. Try as I might, I could not spot any particular social commentary on the presence of such a thing.

Dean has little sympathy for his father, ordering him out and gone. Bill just wants to help. When he learns it was Dean's birthday shortly after getting out, he tries to host a party explaining that he felt bad for missing it. "Which one?" comes back the reply. What other characters say of Bill does not synchronise with what we come to observe of the man - he has lost something whilst being away, and is jokingly referred to as "mild" Bill by an accomplice. We know he made a mistake in the past - the barman at his local provides us with some information on what Bill used to do, namely drink a lot of beer and get into a mass brawl. It is worth noting, then, that when he sits and drinks with his friends Dickie (Neil Maskell) and Terry (Leo Gregory), he has resorted in this new epoch to drinking Coke as they down the amber nectar. Being on probation, and dead-set on not having to return to prison, Bill has to watch himself. To some extent, the film infers that prison works as a form of rehabilitation in Britain.

Having spun a highly effective opening act, Fletcher begins to poke and prod away at Bill's world when he decides to take up the challenge of the story: to remain in London rather than go to Scotland to work on an oil rig so as to get his children back on the right path. We're aware that Bill possesses tremendous potential to unleash Hell, but like Clint Eastwood's character in "Unforgiven", he seems to have moved on; he has either reformed or become too old or just wants to calmly go about his business now. Trouble introduces itself when Bill's newfound presence in the area seems to start hurting a drug business the aforementioned Terry has going with a mob-boss played by Andy Serkis. It manifests further when Terry begins using young Jimmy to transport drugs anonymously around the streets.

Like westerns of old, the film is unafraid of dealing in straight up heroes and villains. Despite the liberal age in which the film was made, and the liberal society in which it is set, the bad people use drugs and sell drugs, while the good people take care of their children, value family and strive for justice. Fletcher injects a real sense of completion, for example, when Bill; Dean; Jimmy and a female character with whom Bill has struck up a friendship - the mother the family unit had lacked up to that point - sit around a large table and consume a Chinese takeaway. The scene carries a particular sense of distinguishability. The enemies of this scene are as such because they wish to destroy it: whisking Bill to the opposite end of the country (or, better yet, back to prison); enslaving the boy to criminality and abusing the female.

To this extent, I am surprised there are so many positive reviews for the film - the earlier point about the film daring to depict a working-class man redeeming himself in the face of the woman neglecting her paternal duties worth reiterating; its depiction of a father coming home to sort out a mess and take care of his children worth reiterating. Fletcher balances each of the strands covering the characters wonderfully - Jimmy's falling in with the wrong crowd; Dean's relationship with a girl his age and, of course, Bill's redemption.

Fletcher peppers his films with various generic Western genre traits: when Bill first gets home to London, a tumbleweed-like item blows past to the strains of a Morricone-style choral moan, and we realise the hero is essentially here to clean up the town. Later on, prior to the metaphorical shootout finale, Bill looks out over the city to strains of a harmonica - Serkis' character's distinctive jet-black overcoats may even remind you of the coats Jack Palance's character wore in "Shane", while a name like 'Jimmy' may even be something you might find on an old American range way-back-when. Irrespective, "Wild Bill" is a bounding success for a debut film - very funny, very affecting and very well concocted.

A mixture of urban grit, humor, and emotional turbulence while maintaining a sense of authenticity throughout, director Dexter Fletcher delivers a prominent, charming British drama. Thanks to a deeply heartfelt script--a cast that boasts a wealth of British acting talent (including Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter, Andy Serkis, and Jaime Winstone), "Wild Bill" successfully adds a fresh approach and perspective to the heavily saturated genre of broken families and urban decay.

Charlie Creed-Miles gets top billing here as "Wild Bill," the former drug-dealing tough guy who has spent the past 8 years under lock and key. Returning home on parole to find his two sons abandoned by their mother, Bill is blackmailed by his eldest, embittered son Dean into sticking around until the threat of being placed into social services has passed. As Bill begins to bond with his younger son Jimmy (Sammy Williams), local drug dealer "T" (Leo Gregory), digs his claws into both father and son.

Fletcher's debut is outstanding, and Charlie Creed-Miles performance as Bill is a knockout. Bill, whose hasty journey to redemption could so easily have seemed abhorrently contrived, yet strangely feels incredibly organic and totally believable. The enjoyment of "Wild Bill" is derived from its incredibly nuanced and engaging performances.

Many societal issues are addressed in Wild Bill: neglected children, alcoholism, prostitution, teen pregnancy, drug dealing, and the impact of role models on today's youth (or the lack thereof). Yet the film manages to remain far lighter than its weighty material. Thanks in part to the sharp writing by Fletcher and co-writer Danny King; Wild Bill manages to be funny without sacrificing the emotional power that drives the narrative.

"Wild Bill" is one of those rare films that possesses energy and vibrancy that manages to keep you rooting for its characters from start to finish. Fletcher's debut will not be an instant hit that propels his name into the spotlight--or recognized by the general public, yet he should be commended for creating a genuinely delightful piece of British social realism laced with charisma and wit. For audiences, "Wild Bill" is a surprisingly entertaining and well-told story that is far more relevant than most would want to believe.

Wild Bill is directed by Dexter Fletcher who also co-writes the screenplay with Danny King. It stars Charlie Creed-Miles, Will Poulter, Liz White, Sammy Williams, Charlotte Spencer, Leo Gregory, Neil Maskell and Iwan Rheon. Music is by Christian Henson and cinematography by George Richmond.

Wild Bill Hayward (Creed-Miles) is just out of prison after serving eight years. Heading home he finds his two sons Dean (Poulter) and Jimmy (Williams) fending for themselves after their mother abandoned them. Bill hadn't planned on hanging around, but if he doesn't then the boys will be taken into care. More pressing is that the local drug runners have got young Jimmy working for them, Bill might just have to take his parental responsibilities to another level and justify his Wild reputation.

Splendid piece of British grit and wit, Wild Bill follows in the traditions of films directed by British actors, who for their debut directing assignment impressed with the ability to grab the attention and no loosen the grip. Fletcher has done a bang up job here, managing to turn what could have been a standard dysfunctional family melodrama into something more meaningful, engaging and suspenseful.

Story is set to the backdrop of working class London, where the building of the Olympic stadium serves as a beacon of hope in the distance, while our principal characters struggle through a world of grimy flats, empty pubs, dirty cafés and drug infested council estates.

The narrative operates on two fronts, Bill (Miles superb) is trying to keep on the straight and narrow, as he candidly observes, if his dog craps on the pavement he will get 18 months back in prison! But as he tries to build a relationship with his two sons, especially the older and more colder Dean, circumstances are drawing him back into the violent world he desperately wants to leave behind. It's this angle that gives the film its suspense, as viewers we are wondering if Bill can achieve his goals, will he get a break, will the family become one unit?

Elsewhere the film operates as a coming of age story, where Dean has had to grow up real fast to look after his younger brother, even taking on employment at the age of 15 to provide for Jimmy and himself. Then there is matters of the heart, as he is strongly attracted to local girl Steph (Spencer), this aspect is very well handled by Fletcher, who gets the excellent Poulter to deftly portray those early nerves when Cupid starts to draw back its bow, the tentative fumblings of young love easily identifiable to us all.

Pic is full of familiar British faces, most of them just stopping by in cameos to lend friendly support to Fletcher's project. They all offer a reassuring presence to proceedings, adding further weight to what is damn fine debut picture. Sometimes violent, often heart warming and tender, and very laugh out loud funny, Wild Bill is a winner. 9/10