The shadows of two Billies – Liar and Elliot – loom large over this modest tale of a small-town dreamer (Andy Black) so desperate to leave his boring backwater with his posh totty girlfriend (Jennifer Bryden) he takes the wrong side in a local miners’ strike.
Though Andy Mark Simpson’s drama is saddled with clunky dialogue and Corrie-level acting, its evocation of time and place (’70s Northumberland) is canny enough to stand comparison with coming-of-age Brit-flicks like SoulBoy and Cemetery Junction.
The lensing’s another boon, if only to highlight the hero’s hideous taste in jumpers.
