Gerry and Sewell are inseperable mates - they`re resourceful, resilient and determined, and they need to be because life for them is pretty tough. They live in Newcastle on Tyne, Sewell with a senile old man who might, or might not, be his father and Gerry in a council flat with his mum and one of his sisters, who has a baby of her own - they live in constant dread Gerry`s violent, alcoholic dad will find them and rob them or worse. The boys hate the very thought of school, and they spend their days involved in more or less illegal activities - but their goal in life is to get enough money - a thousand pounds - to buy season tickets for their favourite soccer club, Newcastle United. It`s refreshing to find a British regional film which doesn`t pander to the international market by watering down the accents and the slang used by the characters. It`s true that it takes a while to get used to the way they talk, but their language is quite beautiful (`purely belter` means `terrific`). Director Mark Herman, who made the excellent Brassed Off and the, for me, less excellent Little Voice, obviously cares about these characters and he manages to blend pathos and humour in just the right amounts. It probably helps if you know your English soccer teams and their stars, but I didn`t and I still responded positively to this very optimistic slice of Tyneside life - and the performances, by a mostly non- professional cast starting with Chris Beattie as Gerry and Greg McLane as Sewell, are simply wonderful.
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