James Gillespie is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family. He is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne, a vulnerable 14 year old expressing a need for love in all the wrong ways, and befriends Kenny, who possesses an unusual innocence in spite of the harsh surroundings.
Direction
Ramsay's debut: every frame feels like a half-remembered dream you can't shake.
Cinematography
Golden wheat fields against gray tenements—beauty that hurts.
Acting
Non-professional kids who feel more real than most Oscar winners.
Director
Lynne Ramsay
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Lynne Ramsay cast local Glasgow kids with zero acting experience; William Eadie was discovered playing football in the street. She'd later do the same for We Need to Talk About Kevin.
The 1973 Glasgow garbage strike was real—bins overflowed for months, rats swarmed, and the city declared a public health emergency. Ramsay lived through it as a child.
GB
