A Sense of Freedom

Although the video description is a little misleading as it suggests Jimmy Boyle was an innocent man, the movie, based on Jimmy's autobiography, tells the story of Jimmy's life as a brutal gangster and is amazing from beginning to end. There's a lot of violence and a lot of blood, but some very emotional moments as well which make you re-evaluate your opinion of a person.

After terrorising people for ages, eventually Jimmy starts to get a taste of his own medicine - but this guy is too hot to handle.

The emotions are raw in this movie and though there is some music, none is needed. The lack of music adds to the intensity of the film and David Hayman's acting as the star of the movie is better than brilliant - he shows us pure evil, anger, sadness, and compassion, and every emotion seems as real as the other.

People say that beatings work against criminals so they think such violence should be used as a deterrent - this film proves exactly THE OPPOSITE - when Jimmy is treated like a human instead of being beaten, there is a drastic change which leads to him running a rehabilitation centre and preaching against gangs and violence.

The fact that VIOLENCE DOESN'T WORK AS A DETERRENT is what this film proves, evidenced by a man who's suffered loads of it.

Jimmy's 'sense of freedom' is when he is treated like a human instead of being beaten.

A brutal Man. A brutal system. This is the true story of hardman Jimmy Boyle based on the tough streets of the Gorbals in 1970,s Glasgow. A hard hitting story of a man who,s loan sharking and racketeering eventually leads him to prison where his anti authoritarianism is met with rough justice by the prison wardens. This low budget film proves that money and special effects need not be the key in mastery

This is an extremely powerful film. Certainly one of the most influential dramas of its time.

But do not be confused.... Boyle is no hero.

He was a very nasty individual who had little/no regard for other people and (to my recollection) has never shown remorse or regret for the life he led.

By all means watch the movie... it is excellent, but do not mistake his stubborn, rebellious and lawless nature for anything other than it is.

Peter McDougall, British televisions most unfllinching writer, skilfully avoids making this a message-movie or an adaptation in a traditional sense. It is partly fictionalised, as it is not a story about criminality, it is about Boyle, a man with a will of iron who defies all society's attempts to dispose of him, and eventually reforms through compliance not defiance. David Hayman is very convincing and there's a wonderful cameo from Hector Nichol as a gatecrasher at a party. The violence is noticeably a long time coming. McDougall never needs to throw as many shocks in as possible, but brings in whatever is needed when it is needed. The icing on the cake is Frankie Miller's score and John McKenzie again showing he can film violence more truthfully than any other director. Wonderfully honest for STV, the emotion reaches more grim levels than McDougall's previous BBC works. Hayman plays the death of his mother and his contemplation of suicide beautifully, but most impressive is his curled up, wounded animal figure on the cell floor saying his name over and over again. This is the way to make a television film.

This is the life of Jimmy Boyle, a Glaswegian gangster. The fact that the film was apparently shot around forty years doesn't in the least detract from the film, in fact it adds to it. This is a wonderful insight into what Glaswegian life must have been like back then, when men were men. My only disappointment is that the film didn't have subtitles.

Gabriel Millsom.