Showing @ Filmhouse, Edinburgh until Fri 1 Nov @ times vary

Clio Barnard / UK / 2013 / 91 mins

The equine motif canters through this film in the form of workhorses, races, and even household ornaments. Sylvan meadows of grazing foals are set against a stark backdrop of gallows-like pylons.  The power and control of the great beasts is in stark contrast to the human characters who struggle to keep a hold over their impoverished and marginalised lives.

Arbor Fenton (Conner Chapman) is a stereotypical “problem kid”, complete with struggling single mum, drug-addicted and thieving older brother, behavioural problems and street smarts that belie his tender years. The only place he has control is with his malleable and bealeaguered best friend Swifty (Shaun Thomas), whose family makes ends meet by selling off the furniture.

Excluded from school and overwhelmed by crushing poverty, the boys ingratiate themselves with unscrupulous scrap metal merchant Kitten (Sean Gilder). As Arbor fights to prove himself as a “scrap man”, Swifty reveals a hitherto hidden talent with Kitten’s horses. But it’s a partnership that threatens the fragile balance of their friendship before and could destroy everything.

Inspired by Oscar Wilde‘s short story, Barnard’s The Selfish Giant deals with many of the same themes of innocence, isolation and redemption. But it is a very modern update, a compelling examination of the desperate lengths people can be driven when poverty extinguishes hope and control over their lives.

Newcomers Chapman and Thomas deliver achingly naturalistic performances as the two young boys. Although they are ably supported by the other cast, there can be no doubt to whom this film belongs. The combination of professional and non-professional actors proves a wise and effective choice, lending an extra layer of realism.

With The Selfish Giant, Clio Barnard has proven herself a powerful and exciting voice in British cinema. To watch it is to be transformed, and to know that it’s a story that will stay with you.