The Violators

You should probably quit this movie ten minutes before the end. Everything leading up to that point is ok. Not great, not bad, just ok.

Obviously shot on a low budget, this is just another one of those movies that show that show the underclass of northern England.

If you want more stylish, more insightful English movies on the same subject maybe try Andrea Arnold or Ken Loach who do the same thing but with better characters, acting and writing.

I was fascinated to see how Helen Walsh would navigate the transition from novelist to auteur, and was not surprised by the poetic and lyrical film she has created. Make no mistake, The Violators is raw; its subject matter, its (very) young and precociously talented cast, its desolate locations and its sometimes intrusive, sometimes unsettling, always arresting hand-held shooting style is all rough, brutal and right in your face (much like Walsh's novels.) Yet, just as in novels like Brass and Once Upon A Time In England, Walsh finds the humanity amid the horror; she finds the beauty in everyday, ugly tableaux. The crude story of The Violators sees Shelly, the young, unwittingly beautiful head of a dysfunctional family having to use all her street wiles and nous to keep her little step- brother safe from their soon-to-be-released father - an abusive monster. In planning a safe haven, Shelly falls under the sinister gaze of two more predators - one of them not much older than herself. She has to think on her feet and try to work out who - if anyone - can be trusted on their godforsaken estate; yet there are moments of purity and childlike innocence amid all the squalor and hardship. If you have read Helen Walsh's novels you'll know that she doesn't pull any punches. Yet The Violators is visually stunning and unexpectedly beautiful, too, with its streaky pink skies and silver dockland vistas. Walsh has coaxed definitive performances from future stars Lauren McQueen, Callum King Chadwick and Brogan Ellis and, along with writer/directors like Clio Barnard and Carol Morley is surely a rising star herself. Another Northern Classic!

Bleak, northern and touching, Helen Walsh's directorial debut works because it's a story of making do when the odds are stacked against you. Shelly, played superbly by Lauren McQueen is objectified sexually by the characters and the camera, and it really works as we know that everyone is after exploiting her.The cast of this film are all excellent, Brogan Ellis, Liam Ainsworth, Stephen Lord and the supporting cast all deliver in an understated way. It's a slow burner, but paced just right as it steers us towards a taught climax. The acting is naturalistic and believable. The younger cast members, in my opinion are all going to go onto great things and their performances in this lovely film are handled well by the director.

Sometimes hard to watch but also a must see. Addressing real issues happening right now. Great acting too.

Another reviewer has captured exactly why The Violators is worth viewing with the comment it is "for lovers of film". This is brilliant story telling brought together by the sounds and movement of film. There are twists and turns, delicate moments, subtleties by the film maker all of which which require your full attention. I was glad to be confused. It encouraged me to absorb all the elements of the film - characters, dialogue, set, locations, and the broader social issues being presented. Very glad to have watched the film. The cast deliver the story superbly, it is wonderful acting, they are authentic. Important to note the setting in and around Liverpool and Merseyside is crucial, it brings with it an authenticity. Refreshingly far from typical London centric of so many films. The Violators is modern British story telling delivered by the medium of film.