It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

good back-story, and good acting

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Really hard to start it... Very deep and heartbreaking.It's a realistic British drama showing really detailed the current life of worker class in Bradford - north England, what is still suffering after the 1980's recession and economy collapse. I've never seen any movies putting you up close for such situations just like you can't pay your £20 bill and selling your only furniture. It focuses on the lives of two boys who are both from a large family with awful living conditions. Instead of going to school they prefer to collect scrap metal to help out their family to survive. How ridiculous is it to steal a few kilograms of metal hidden in your jacket from a scrap- dealer isn't it?Absolutely worth to watch, but on a first date. The last ten minutes are really shocking, be prepared for a long never ending catharsis.

Tiny Arbor Fenton (Conner Chapman) has a big bark. His best friend Swifty (Shaun Thomas) is big and quiet. Both boys are from dysfunctional families. At the railyards, they witness Mick steal cable and nick it for themselves. They sell it to the local scrap dealer Kitten (Sean Gilder). The boys get suspended from school after Swifty gets picked on and Arbor starts the fight. They scrounge for scraps and even steals. Kitten has horses that he races in illegal road races. Swifty is good with horses and Kitten wants him to race. Arbor is left out. Arbor keeps pushing to steal live high voltage cable. Events unfold leading to tragic results.The setting is glum. The boys are terrific. It's a dark story that can't be anything other than resulting in tragedy. This is a very good indie. I just didn't like the horse part of the movie. It feels unreal and out of place from the rest of the movie. The race feels fake. This is a movie that survives by its gritty realism. The horse racing aspect takes me out of the movie. The relationship between the boys is deep. It's a good little indie.

(79%) A brilliant, honest look into modern day British life for children living at the very bottom step of society. If Ken Loach is to retire (don't hold your breath) then Barnard is worthy to continue what he has perfected, as this is "Raining stones" through the eyes of children. The performances from the two main stars is uniquely wonderful, and they are real performances, not to be confused with simply playing themselves, as I don't buy that for a second. This comes highly recommended for anyone who craves some grim reality in their cinema, with plenty of bite, attention to detail, and a heart bursting, non-sugar coated tale to tell. A future British low-budget classic in waiting.

Two adolescent boys in working class England travel together with a horse and cart and gather up scrap metal to sell to a local dealer. The kids are extremely resourceful, and figure out ways to steal cable and set it on fire to melt the covering for the resulting copper. The guy who buys it all has no morals whatsoever and eventually it results in a very bad outcome which shocked the hell out of me. The only problem I had is the very Cockney English accents which I had trouble understanding. British audiences will get more out of this film than I did as an American. I could have used subtitles to get every line. Even with that caveat, I would recommend The Selfish Giant for the excellent cast and interesting story.