Gillies MacKinnon directs Iain Robertson, Joe McFadden and Laura Fraser in this British period coming-of-age movie where Glaswegian teenager Lex is torn between the artistic life of middle brother Alan and the thuggish world of elder brother Bobby.

The forgotten man of Scottish cinema. It wasn’t quite Trainspotting. What is? But it was marketed as such. This is a more mediative cinematic memoir. Anti-nostalgic despite a thumping Sixties soundtrack and some sharp fashions. All the characters are given complexity… they are more rounded than their obvious stereotypes and have moments that question even these definitions. For a low budget production it hits some deep feelings. The thrill of the chase, the danger of a gang brawl and the melancholy of fractured families. And Small Faces introduced the world to Laura Fraser who competes with Kevin McKidd to be the best thing in this.

7

Perfect Double Bill: Beats (2020)