The decision to never explicitly explain the main character's delinquency is probably one of the best aspects of the film; to do so would be redundant, placing the film within many other social dramas which have done the same but have ended up being forgettable. What is more important is everything that happens because of the character's search for meaning for himself, leading to the film becoming more 'fantastical' and as a result an emotionally powerful work. I absolutely loved it.

The lead character is a very believable, complex tormented soul. The film offers few explanations as to why and the ending was left open for interpretation. Intriguing but lacked something to make me really connect with it.

It has the setting, characters and mood to be a hard-hitting film of real substance. However, the script is a real mess. It's bloated, there are far too many competing subplots, and many of the film's "boundary-pushing" set pieces feel massively contrived. The character is shown reading a book to prove he's still intelligent, and with knives taped to his hands to say he's like a wild beast. Come on Mullan, surely you can do better than that?

"Neds" is violent, occasionally suspensful, darkly comic & surreal. Mullans photography is excellent & so is his screenplay as he is backed up by a solid cast & a good performance from McCarron in the lead role. Mullan's symbolism is clever also, but perhaps he is over reliant on it? Consequently this films one fault it is that we never really get to learn what makes John tick & why he does what he does. It's a considerable fault when you consider how much time we spend with his character.

Not your everyday coming-of-age story. What went wrong with this kid? His father, played by Mullan himself, is definitely not a stand-up citizen - and there's the whole social mobility thing. We never really get under John's skin, though, and instead one shares the confusion of the blokes around him. The film has its moments, and it invokes time and place rather well, but its narrative is a bit unfocused. Go with 'This is England' instead.

okul, siddet, kuzey irlanda, cete kavgasi (john McGill basarili bir ogrencidir. Abisi taninmis bir serseridir, kendisi de baska bir ogrenci tarafindan tehdit edilmektedir. Bir serseri grubuna katilir. hayati degisir. siddet egilimi gun gectikte artan John grubun bile tepkisini ceker. Bir gün dövdügü cocuk sakat kalir) Finali pek iyi oturmamis fena degil.

This film looks for the reasons why good kids turn bad, and finds them in grown up world - parents, teachers, older brothers. There are plenty of such coming of age dramas, and this one definitely doesn't offer anything new or shine with excellence in doing old thing again.

nisan 2011 - 30. ist. film fest & biraz anti-varoluscu bir film degil mi? biz cevremizin bizi belirledikleriyiz. secimlerimizin bir onemi yok. buyudugumuz cevre elbette bizi belirler ve bizim buna karsi hic bir cikis sansimiz yoktur. karakterin film icerisindeki degisimi, icinde bizzat bu mesaji barindiriyordu. bu mesaja katilmiyorum. ama bunun disinda mizahi, siddeti, gercekciligi dozajinda, basariyla kotarilmis bir film oldugunu dusunuyorum.