This film is claimed to be “hard-edged” because it deals with early-teens engaging in drink, drugs, and sex. The central figure is Telly (Leo Fitzpatrick) who is interested in fucking virgins. He scores two in the one day of the action of the film, and is pursued by Jenny (ChIoe Sevigny) who he has infected with HIV in a prior conquest. Telly loves ‘em and leaves ‘em.
The story, quite a moral wee parable, was written by one of the kids involved in the making of the movie, the action of which includes theft, drinking and drugging, and anti- Korean and anti-Gay abuse. It also includes extremes of violence against a (Black) man who tells a drugged-up Casper (Telly’s best mate) to get out of his way. Casper being ineffectually trying to skateboard at this point. I was sitting among an audience of, well, kids, whilst watching this. I got the feeling that the Belfast audience did not get the anti-Korean references (maybe because the man playing the son of the Korean grocer – Jonathan Lee Kiln – was stunningly beautiful) they were obviously uncomfortable about the screaming at the “faggots”, were puzzled by the gratuitous violence, and were desperate to laugh at anything remotely amusing. I was struck by the fact that the sharpest reaction was against the Telly character kicking a cat!

The reason for this, probably, is that despite the rending of garmentSeand gnashing of teeth, youngsters here are not drug-crazed sociopaths. E tends to make people cheerful, and all the sub-cultures here (including the Gay one) are resolutely (on the surface, anyway) non- or even anti- sect arian, and there is a pretty understandable distaste for violence amongst the generation born since the war started.
The movie is rather soft-edged: apart from Telly, nobody else at the big booze-up at the end has sex. Telly is a thief, con man, liar, is ruled by his dick (which is diseased, or at least his vital fluids are) – he also kicks cats. He is not being put forward as a “ole-model”. kids is a paed erasts’ dream, I haven’t seen so much flesh on display outside of a butcher’s window.