A street-toughened parolee finds his two boys abandoned by their mum and fending for themselves. Time to step up, or not.A street-toughened parolee finds his two boys abandoned by their mum and fending for themselves. Time to step up, or not.A street-toughened parolee finds his two boys abandoned by their mum and fending for themselves. Time to step up, or not.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 wins & 8 nominations total
- Jonas
- (as Rad Kaim)
- Director
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Featured reviews
8 out of 10 from me, and i'm normally a hard critic of English films as there been so much rubbish in the last few years coming out of england.
I'm fully intent to watch this film again, and this time take my wife so she can see what i was raving about to her about this film.
Charlie Creed-Miles and Will Poulter have given me faith in English films again...
The story line's smooth with good performances all round. Liked the plot with the father returning after doing time to the so called home, the kids settling in a parent less world and sudden chaos caused with the father's return not to forget the intervention of the child services & the so called drug peddlers pitching in to a a nicely woven story. Must acknowledge the director for the good work.
Its been a good Saturday end thanks to "Wild Bill"
Rating 7 of 10, go out and watch this good flick.
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.
The formula is rather simple, and certainly nothing we haven't seen before, but then why in the heck does this work so well?
So only super-mild spoilers here in a 1 sentence synopsis;nothing you couldn't have gathered from reading the plot summary above. Bill returns home from a 8-year prison stint to find his two sons living unsupervised.
What makes "Wild Bill" work so well is the characters and their journeys. Bill, his eldest son, the youngest(Jimmy), and Bill's girlfriend all go through serious changes in the film. Every character-arc fits perfectly into the film's storyline, and the acting is spot-on to boot. Nothing seems forced or unrealistic.
Another great thing about the movie is the ending. It really builds towards a crescendo, and the ending is bittersweet. There's something magical about the emotional scene late in the film where Bill has no other choice, just the primal instinct to protect his boys.
At a point midway through the film, something clicks with Bill. We see two boys believing they were men when they really weren't, and one man not realizing how to be one until the moment when he recognized what was actually worth living for..
"Wild Bill" is a soulful, heart-breaking and mending story with some solid performances, a nice soundtrack, and great ending.
It's a Full Monty meets Green Street Hooligans, and it's every bit as good as both.
HIGhly recommended.
78/100
Did you know
- TriviaDirectorial debut of Dexter Fletcher.
- Quotes
Wild Bill: [discovering his youngest son's been helping sell crack] First year's the hardest.
Jimmy: What?
Wild Bill: Yeah that's what they say. "First year's the hardest." It weren't for me. Second year, that was the real killer. First year you can still remember the world - your home, your pals, Sunday roast, what it's like to take a dump without someone watching you. Second year, that's when the hope starts to leave ya. No one left to trust. No one you really like 'cause you're in prison. Everyone's a criminal. They all want to fuck you over. You don't want to go to sleep 'cause, whatever you got, it'll be nicked by the bloke you share your cell with... whose farts and stink you have to put up with twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Don't want to make friends with no one because, if you do, you make an enemy somewhere else. Nancies who want to rump ya. And, oh, yeah, blokes who don't think nothin' about creeping up behind you with a shank and sticking it in your throat. Do you know what the worst thing is? Do ya? You get used to it. So, Jimbo, what are you gonna do?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Projector: Wild Bill (2013)
- SoundtracksThe Guns of Brixton
Performed by The Clash
Written by Paul Simonon
Published by Universal Music Publishing Ltd
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd
- How long is Wild Bill?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $194,099
- Runtime
- 1h 38m(98 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1