WILD BILL: Out Now To Rent and Buy

August 7, 2012 Ross Hughes Action, Drugs, HCF Reviews 0

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Starring: , , , , , , , , , ,

What is it all about?

Out on parole after 8 years inside, Bill (Charlie Creed-Miles) returns home to find his now 11 and 15-year old sons, Jimmy (Sammy Williams) and Dean (Will Poulter), abandoned by their mother and fending for themselves. Dean reluctantly forces his Dad to stay, but when Jimmy finds himself in trouble with Bill’s old drug-dealing mates, Bill has to decide what kind of Dad he really wants to be – a good one or a free one…

 

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo5IaRnKyFk[/youtube]

The Hughes Verdict!

Gangster films, especially made in Britain are the norm on the DVD Market. Every Monday the shelves in the local Blockies are either packed with numerous titles regarding a Football Hooligan or of a character who gets sucked into the life of the underground world. Usually the person you see staring back at you on the DVD sleeve is the face of Danny Dyer and the bad guy comes in the shape of Billy Murray or some other Ex Eastender acting the big man! Its a puzzle in my eyes that they are still so popular when they all offer basically the same stuff!

When Wild Bill ended up on my lap, you can understand why I gave out a sigh of despair. I mean, did I really want to see the same recycled stuff all over again. Well the old saying of “Do Not Judge A Book By Its Cover!” really does apply to this remarkable and quite stunning film which already enters my Top Ten films of 2012 and full praise goes to Press Gang’s Dexter Fletcher who really creates a film to remember in his directing debut!

The three stars of the show are Charlie Creed-Miles (Bill) and Sammy Williams (Jimmy) and Dean ( a powerful young talent in the shape of Wil Poulter) who are so immense that they just simply blow you away with their portrayal of a broken family. Jimmy and Dean have been left alone for months thanks to their mother doing a midnight runner and poor Dean has been carrying the whole weight on his shoulder. Trying to do right and not follow the path of drugs and crime, every knock on the door is a worry in case its the social services turning up to take his young brother Jimmy away, something Dean will simply not let happen.

 
One night though that “knock” ends up being his long gone father Bill, who is just out of prison and in town for a few days to tie up some loose ends. A changed character and no longer “Wild”, Bill is suddenly greeted with a life he did not expect or probably wanted…… two boys who have been left abandoned and forgotten and needing all the help they can possibly get.
 
Its here where the strength of Wild Bill is at its best, the power of doing the right thing for your family and its great that the central trio actually make you care for what they have went through and what happens next!
 
Bill though despite his reputation is now a cool character, not wanting to get sucked back into the life that put him behind bars for many years and determined to keep away from the bad element within the state. With films of this nature, that logic is tested to the max when new crime king Terry (Leo Gregory) and his drug selling crew are at first rejoiced to see him back but then a bit wary when he won’t come back to the fold! Soon young Jimmy is targeted by the vicious group to scare Bill away and it all leads to a Wild West kind of climax when we actually see why our Bill is called “Wild”.
 
With a stellar British cast containing names like Jaime Winstone, Sean Pertwee, Jason Flemying, Andy Serki, Neil Maskell and Misfits Iwan Rheon, Wild Bill is a stunning debut by Fletchter who manages to get every single actor to pull off a memorable scene. Olivia Williams in particular as the prostitute Liz adds weight to the problems that Bill will encounter and while it all builds to the expected climax, the film never loses the energy or wit you would expect because of the storyline that blends Carlito’s Way and Unforgiven into one, Wild Bill is a beast of its own kind and quite possibly the best british film of 2012………..
 
                                                  Rating: ★★★★☆
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About Ross Hughes 559 Articles
Since my mother sat me down at the age of five years of age and watched a little called Halloween, I have been hooked on horror. There is no other genre that gets me excited and takes me to the edge of entertainment. I watch everything from old, new, to cheap and blockbusters, but I promise all my readers that I will always give an honest opinion, and I hope whoever reads this review section, will find a film that they too can love as much as I do! Have fun reading, and please DO HAVE NIGHTMARES!!!!!!

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