The Selfish Giant (2013)

Clio Barnard finds poetry amid the pylons in a Yorkshire-set tale of two petty-thieving boys. The critic calls it one of the great modern British films, praising its moody, poetic quality and the dazzlingly honest central performance.

Barnard's fiction debut is a powerful contemporary fable about friendship, greed and exploitation that recalls the compassionate drama of Ken Loach. It is highlighted for its memorable impact and confirmation of Barnard as a major talent.

Barnard's reworking of Oscar Wilde's story is an outstanding contemporary social-realist film about two boys scavenging scrap on Bradford estates. The critic praises its passionate handling of the young leads, a hair-raising horse-and-trap drag race sequence, and its maturity as filmmaking in the tradition of Ken Loach.

A terrific human drama about two boys about to be consigned to the scrapheap, with standout performances from its young leads; profoundly moving with lightness of touch despite realist elements.

The critic describes it as a grim yet magical coming-of-age story with a vitality to its despair that keeps viewers engaged, singling out the remarkable young actors and Barnard's observant, poetic direction.

It praises Barnard's skill with child actors and her vivid, vibrant depiction of an impoverished milieu in a conventional kitchen-sink drama, noting that the film avoids feeling like miserabilism.

Barnard’s second feature is excellent, pulsing with life; it studies the beauty and limitations of the natural-born entrepreneur in a fable that has you in bits, though grim up north it is not depressing.

The film blends British social realism with tenderness, focusing on the friendship between two boys drawn into scrap metal dealing. It praises the powerful performances by the nonprofessional young leads and the director's restrained handling of a potentially mawkish story.

Barnard's follow-up to The Arbor is a bewitching northern fable about childhood, poverty and capitalism. It is singled out for its perverse visual splendour amid the squalor and the performances of the young leads.

The film depicts northern England's postindustrial underclass with social realism, focusing on two boys whose friendship provides warmth amid hardship. It highlights the risks of scrap-metal scavenging in a harsh environment.

The film is an unflinching yet warm story of two Bradford boys entangled in scrap-metal theft and danger. It is praised for its raw young actors and poetic touches reminiscent of Loach's Kes.

It lauds the film's clear-eyed social realism and nuanced look at marginal lives, praising the genuine performances from the young leads and the director's ear for language and eye for the landscape.

Barnard offers a lyrical portrait of two boys from a deprived northern estate who turn to scrap dealing. The film is praised for its direction of the young non-professional leads and its evocation of a post-industrial landscape.

The review calls it an absorbing and ultimately moving follow-up to Barnard's debut, highlighting the strong performances by the young non-pro leads and the fresh topical angle on illicit scrap metal dealing in Yorkshire.

Barnard's The Selfish Giant is a gruelling triumph of social realism about two Yorkshire council-estate boys drawn into scrap dealing. The critic notes its vivid images, energy in happier moments, and ability to make audiences care about the characters despite some conventional elements of the genre.

Barnard's voice emerges strongly in this modern fable about a feral teen's journey, with strong performances from young leads and atmospheric visuals of Bradford's decay. It blends social realism with mythic elements in a moving, cinematic way.

Clio Barnard’s painful fable is an angry and bleak experience, a blend of Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men, Ken Loach and Dickens that leaves you bereft.

The review highlights the raw talent of the young non-actor leads and Barnard's assured social realism in depicting the boys' friendship amid deprivation, with moments of optimism and strong cinematography standing out.

The critic praises the film's authentic social realism, furious compassion, and standout performances (especially Chapman as Arbor), noting its moving climax with redemption and hope that avoids pure miserabilism.

The critic sees the film as a rigorously realist departure from its Oscar Wilde inspiration, trapping fable-like elements in Northern grimness and Loachian social naturalism with no easy happy ending. It is elevated by the non-actor leads' performances and Mike Eley's lyrical cinematography.

Barnard's second feature elevates familiar social realist territory through astonishing performances from its young leads, a sensitive screenplay, and striking cinematography of Bradford's landscapes. It positions the director as a talent worth watching.