Albert Finney is BADASS!

almost essentially the same movie as alfie, only finney's character is needlessly rebellious rather than despicable and charming. the story is pretty good, but it tends to lull and in the end doesn't go anywhere that seems to have purpose.

A pleasant ride back to good old industrial Britain, and one full of witt, humour and social relevance. Yeah, youth did always struggle to find a way in life, and this is a great and entertaining film that shows us just that. Coalworkers, smoking and drinking, hangovers and pregnant girls. ... ain't it just the struggle of man?

Iconic British film. On the precipice of an era.

Albert Finney is amazing in this little film as a man who simply does not give a shit, but spends all his hard earned money on having a good time... Its not about who you are, its about how many pints you can drink and how many birds you can shag! YEAH!

Has a little more grit than the usual kitchen sink dramas.

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Watching Finney in this is what inspired Malcolm McDowell to get into the movies. And it shows: his Alex DeLarge has much of the same swagger and attitude (and dialect) as Finney's role in this film. And Finney pulls off the ruffian charisma just as well as McDowell, maybe even better. He's the heart and soul of this film, the rest of it is your pretty standard angry young man fare. I mean, it's fine, the cinematography is good, but I wasn't too impressed by any aspect of it besides Finney.

Excellent film.

The Kitchen Sink movement is more about "social realism" than realism, it seems, as the doctrine tends to distort behavioral, even material reality, just to make its point about class and social standing. Karel Reisz' fast-paced feature debut about a rowdy working-class ruffian is a little bit contrived and considerably cliche in some ways, though in other ways it's different and likable enough to merit watching.

Really, Really tedious. Karel Reisz is a hack covering up his lack of technique in "realist" garb.

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All much in the mold of every other 'kitchen-sink' drama but it's done very well and Albert Finney is always a treat [even this early in his career, nice]. I can't complain.

Startling when it emerged, this raw working-class melodrama, with its sharp detail and strong comedy asides, delighted the mass audience chiefly because of its strong central character thumbing his nose at authority. Matching the mood of the times, and displaying a new attitude to sex, it transformed British cinema and was much imitated.

A very well made film with a captivating performance by Finney and a consistent enough pace to keep you interested. It feels like I've seen all this British underclass struggling to balance fun work and family stuff before, and probably done better, but it's still quite good and enjoyable.

For most of the film I was sitting there seething, actively hating everything that the main character did, which I don't think was the intended audience reaction. If the intention of these kinds of films is to shine a light on working class life, it didn't really work for me. I was too distracted by trying to shoot the main character with laser beams from my eyes. The film did have some interesting things to say in the third act, but it was ultimately a negative viewing experience.