I think I'm reasonably well qualified to write about the accuracy and veracity of this 1996 film based on the Glasgow gang wars of the mid-60's. I was born and raised in the East End of Glasgow although I was a little too young to be affected by any of the gangland issues of the times. Our family lived out in the suburbs where the Council liked to dump the less well-off in a neighbourhood or scheme as we called it, named Provanhall in the district of Easterhouse. I do remember seeing the graffiti of the different gangs sprayed on the walls and also the big amnesty spearheaded by popular singer Frankie Vaughan where all the gang-members were invited to lay down their weapons.
I note that the action is based more in the south side of Glasgow, but I certainly recognised the names of the gangs depicted here. Central to the story are the three brothers of a single mum who in different ways get caught up in the gang warfare which seems to go on unchecked under their parents' and the police's noses. I don't know if I can remember a policeman or women actually appearing in the film at any point.
The key figure here is the youngest brother Lex played by Iain Robertson. Mildly rebellious at home, his ambition is to join his local gang despite the protestations of both his brothers, one a talented artist played by Joseph McFadden and another who keeps well out of harm's way.
The youngster's plan doesn't go well however when he accidentally shoots the leader of the gang, (played by Kevin Kidd) he wants to join and when into the bargain the artist brother also starts romancing the guy's girl-friend too, clearly there will be recriminations for the brothers down the line.
The movie is an uneasy mix, I felt, of attempted black comedy with social realism. It was easy at the time to portray the bleakness of Glasgow, all you had to do really was point a camera at it, but I wasn't convinced by either the characters or the situations in which they were placed.
There is a well-executed, pardon the pun, killing at an ice-rink, but I was otherwise unconvinced by the dialogue and thought there was an over-dilution of the way things really were (for instance, I didn't see one razor-slashing) and I can guarantee that the language and actual violence of the times was much stronger than we see here, although I can understand this may have been done for certification purposes.
The acting was mostly acceptable, especially given the relative youth and inexperience of the cast, although some did show some gaucheness and inexperience.
Does the general public need another movie telling us that Glasgow was "No mean city"? I'm not sure, but I will say in answer to my own question that I didn't really recognize the city of my youth in this over-compromised re-telling of notorious local history, perhaps best forgotten anyway.
I note that the action is based more in the south side of Glasgow, but I certainly recognised the names of the gangs depicted here. Central to the story are the three brothers of a single mum who in different ways get caught up in the gang warfare which seems to go on unchecked under their parents' and the police's noses. I don't know if I can remember a policeman or women actually appearing in the film at any point.
The key figure here is the youngest brother Lex played by Iain Robertson. Mildly rebellious at home, his ambition is to join his local gang despite the protestations of both his brothers, one a talented artist played by Joseph McFadden and another who keeps well out of harm's way.
The youngster's plan doesn't go well however when he accidentally shoots the leader of the gang, (played by Kevin Kidd) he wants to join and when into the bargain the artist brother also starts romancing the guy's girl-friend too, clearly there will be recriminations for the brothers down the line.
The movie is an uneasy mix, I felt, of attempted black comedy with social realism. It was easy at the time to portray the bleakness of Glasgow, all you had to do really was point a camera at it, but I wasn't convinced by either the characters or the situations in which they were placed.
There is a well-executed, pardon the pun, killing at an ice-rink, but I was otherwise unconvinced by the dialogue and thought there was an over-dilution of the way things really were (for instance, I didn't see one razor-slashing) and I can guarantee that the language and actual violence of the times was much stronger than we see here, although I can understand this may have been done for certification purposes.
The acting was mostly acceptable, especially given the relative youth and inexperience of the cast, although some did show some gaucheness and inexperience.
Does the general public need another movie telling us that Glasgow was "No mean city"? I'm not sure, but I will say in answer to my own question that I didn't really recognize the city of my youth in this over-compromised re-telling of notorious local history, perhaps best forgotten anyway.