A Sense of Freedom (1981) User Reviews

I Saw This As A Thirteen Year Old

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 18 August 2004]

Being 13 years old in 1979 meant three TV channels , no videos , no X certificate movies and strict guidelines as to what was shown on television. In other words 13 year old schoolboys were sheltered as to what they saw in those days so when A SENSE OF FREEDOM was broadcast it caused a massive stir at school with it being the main topic of conversation due to its depressing violence and strong violence

" This place is a f***in' sh**house "

" Shut it ya f***in' pr*ck "

" Hey did did you see that bit where Boyle gobbed on the cop at the police station ? "

Perhaps the most memorable scene at the time was Fulton Mackay best known for his comedy role in PORRIDGE moaning that " It's always raining in f***in' Greenock " which was quite shocking , and A SENSE OF FREEDOM was rather shocking and depressing at the time

I haven't seen it since then but I did read the book in the mid 1980s and have to say this adaptation doesn't really do the book justice . Okay there's a massive amount of scope involved in Boyle's book that takes place from his childhood to his time in Barlinne special unit so I guess I shouldn't complain too much since it must have been near impossible for Peter McDougall to adapt , but the book itself is totally compelling giving a brutal insight as to what it's like to serve a life sentence in the Scottish penal system at the time . Most disappointingly the film version ends with Boyle's arrival in the special unit , in the book if memory serves me right this happens about two thirds of the way through and Boyle is shocked when the penal system treats him like a human being . I can't help thinking A SENSE OF FREEDOM ( Film version ) would have worked better if it concentrated a bit more at the end on the special unit thereby giving the screenplay a more obvious redemption plot

A couple of other points about crime and punishment in Scotland since A SENSE OF FREEDOM....

Scotland now has it's own devolved parliament where it's elected members bend over backwards to accommodate the rights of convicted criminals in prison . There's several prisoners ( Including sex offenders ) taking the Scottish parliament to the European Court Of Human Rights at the moment claiming that because they don't get enough recreation their rights have been abused

The Gorbals estate where Boyle and his cronies grew up is now a desolate wasteland full of drug addicts . It's always been a rough place but in the days of Boyle and razor gangs and NO MEAN CITY the gangs would stick to their own . There's no such honour nowadays as woman and old age pensioners are seen as fair game for a mugging . This isn't something I read about either since my brother used to live in the Gorbals

The special unit was closed down several years ago as it was seen as a case of " The lunatics running the asylum "

Gritty, violent prison drama

[gabrielmillsom · 8/10 · 28 May 2021]

This is the life of Jimmy Boyle, a Glaswegian gangster. The fact that the film was apparently shot around forty years doesn't in the least detract from the film, in fact it adds to it. This is a wonderful insight into what Glaswegian life must have been like back then, when men were men. My only disappointment is that the film didn't have subtitles.

Gabriel Millsom.

Brilliant study of a man with an unbelievably strongwill

[simon-118 · 9/10 · 4 August 1999]

Peter McDougall, British televisions most unfllinching writer, skilfully avoids making this a message-movie or an adaptation in a traditional sense. It is partly fictionalised, as it is not a story about criminality, it is about Boyle, a man with a will of iron who defies all society's attempts to dispose of him, and eventually reforms through compliance not defiance. David Hayman is very convincing and there's a wonderful cameo from Hector Nichol as a gatecrasher at a party. The violence is noticeably a long time coming. McDougall never needs to throw as many shocks in as possible, but brings in whatever is needed when it is needed. The icing on the cake is Frankie Miller's score and John McKenzie again showing he can film violence more truthfully than any other director. Wonderfully honest for STV, the emotion reaches more grim levels than McDougall's previous BBC works. Hayman plays the death of his mother and his contemplation of suicide beautifully, but most impressive is his curled up, wounded animal figure on the cell floor saying his name over and over again. This is the way to make a television film.

Miss it at your peril

[j-scott33 · 10/10 · 14 December 2002]

A brutal Man. A brutal system. This is the true story of hardman Jimmy Boyle based on the tough streets of the Gorbals in 1970,s Glasgow. A hard hitting story of a man who,s loan sharking and racketeering eventually leads him to prison where his anti authoritarianism is met with rough justice by the prison wardens. This low budget film proves that money and special effects need not be the key in mastery

This guy is not a hero.... but it is a great movie

[paul-mcelhone · 9 July 2002]

This is an extremely powerful film. Certainly one of the most influential dramas of its time.

But do not be confused.... Boyle is no hero.

He was a very nasty individual who had little/no regard for other people and (to my recollection) has never shown remorse or regret for the life he led.

By all means watch the movie... it is excellent, but do not mistake his stubborn, rebellious and lawless nature for anything other than it is.

The greatest crime is the DVD fiasco

[simon-118 · 9/10 · 16 July 2004]

I had this fantastic drama on video, and was most excited when I found I could upgrade with the DVD release. So I gave away my video and bought the DVD, only to find to my horror that the DVD is edited, has new titles put on which are unbelieveably tacky, and worst of all, is DUBBED into Standard Scots!

This destroys all the beauty of the piece, both the chilling dialogue and the comic timing.

Additionally the blown up print makes the film look like a home movie.

An absolute disaster, and a successful job of making a gem look awful.

And the person I gave the video to taped over it.

One of the 'Prison Movies', ever!

[kane-49 · 6 August 1999]

The true story of Jimmy Boyle, one of Scotland's most notorious troublemaker's. This movie gives the viewer; 1. A glimpse into the harsh reality of growing up in one of Europe's toughest neighbourhood's, the "Gorbells" in Glasgow, Scotland, and; 2. It shows the 'Incredible' strength of one man's spirit. Jimmy, use to run small time protection rackets and the usual 'Gangsterism' that goes with, that is until he's caught and sent to prison. Everybody feared Jimmy Boyle, and I understand why, Boyle was one hell of a nasty character and you will see why, but that was no excuse for the brutal punishments this Human being received once imprisoned. He was actually in solitary confinement longer than any other person on record or "in the movies", but that's just one of the punishments Jimmy receives in prison. This movie will bring you through all the emotions that "Midnight Express" did. I actually prefer 'a sense of freedom' because of it's low budget and realism, and it's portrayal of one man's strength of spirit to defy condititioning by way of extreme brutal punishment inflicted upon him by the British Judicial System, this guy would not give in, until they did, unbelievable, you gotta' see what this guy went through. One of my favourite parts is when Jimmy is at His Mother's funeral, so sad, and the line "you'll see, jimmy" J.B. replies "you'll see,!? you'll see f*#k'all without your eye's." Ouch!. Jimmy Boyle still lives in Glasgow, he houses and counsels homeless and drug addicted teenagers.

Amazing Bio Film

[mulhollandman · 9/10 · 10 February 2006]

I became aware of this last November whilst studying British TV Drama in University. I was immediately sucked into the world of Jimmy Boyle. He is to me a fascinating figure. I do not believe in giving criminals a celebrity platform and his criminal activities hold very little interest for me. What does captivate me is his persona and his talent as a sculptor. This man is made of cast iron strong will. This film perfectly captures this and it does it in a way that after 1 Hour and 30 minutes you believe to know the real Jimmy Boyle.

Written by native Glasweigian Peter McDougal & directed by long time collaborator and fellow Scotch Scot John MacKenzie we are transported into 1960's Glasgow. We are made vulnerable to society that Jimmy Boyle has grown up in. He is from a deprived working class tenement and we become very aware that he makes a living through his menace. The story is set by presenting him in this light. We move very quickly his life on the outside. Also during this time we also see the good side of Jimmy Boyle. He is well liked and he will give money to the neighborhood kids whose parents wouldn't have money.

He finally gets sent down for murder and this is when the film really begins. In Boyles own words he began making his own rules up. He was not reacting so much against the prison system and incarceration but he was reacting to the treatment of prisoners. He feels violated by the staff because he is nothing more than an animal to them and that is the way he treated. His strong will is displayed by the harsh beatings he receives and the amount of time he spends in solitary confinement. During this time we see him evolve psychologically he repeats his name so that he can remember who he is. He contemplates suicide all these scenes are extremely powerful and are very well acted by David Hayman.

Hayman is very believable as Jimmy Boyle. His face acting certainly portrays the characters thoughts and emotional turmoil. He is in my opinion a very fine actor and very consistent in everything I have seen him in. Another mention I will give is to the cinematographer Chris Menges who is surely a master of his craft. he has worked with best directors in England and America in his time and it is obvious that his skill of capturing and presenting moving images is up their with Conrad L. Hall and Robert Richardson.

Like it or loathe it A sense of freedom should be watched by any budding film makers (actors,writers,directors). Certainly one of Scotlands finest film exports ever.

A Social Document

[ianbroudie2001 · 6 July 2003]

An interesting movie to say the least.....

I watched this film by complete accident and have never discounted the influence it has served in my life.

Once the film had been seen I went onto read the book (much more intense) and then the sequel (the pain of confidement). Eventually having lost the movie some years ago I managed to win a copy on Ebay some weeks ago, once again opening me up to the harshness and bleakness this film gave me and still does.

A wonderful performance by David Hayman (totally hard, totally cold) and others (watch out for Rab C Nesbitt and Fulton Mackay from Porridge).

The film portays the true story of Jimmy Boyle as rather biased towards Boyle forgetting the effect he would have on some peoples life. Do not forget that these prison officers took some almighty provocation from Mr. Boyle and when Mr. Boyle in the movie questions the officers about wether they are any different from him they're answer is "we have families at home waiting for us...."

Having watched the majority of British Prison movies (Macvicar, Scum) once is left with the feeling that this is the top one. So sad that is has not enjoyed it's day on DVD yet.

I visited Peterhead Prison some years ago and was astonished with it's look, goodness knows only what it was like inside.

The brutal nature of the film is also astounding, knife slashing, prison beatings and a quite astonishing deterrent by Boyle to avoiding such beatings (Urgh!).

Do such beatings deter, well now adays people believe such punishment has no effect and is unfair on the criminal, funny that as Boyle is now a reformed character preaching to the addicted masses, one could be contraversial and say that his punishment served as his "sense of freedom"

A hard-hitting film based on an ex-gangster's true story

[drublecube · 1 November 2007]

Although the video description is a little misleading as it suggests Jimmy Boyle was an innocent man, the movie, based on Jimmy's autobiography, tells the story of Jimmy's life as a brutal gangster and is amazing from beginning to end. There's a lot of violence and a lot of blood, but some very emotional moments as well which make you re-evaluate your opinion of a person.

After terrorising people for ages, eventually Jimmy starts to get a taste of his own medicine - but this guy is too hot to handle.

The emotions are raw in this movie and though there is some music, none is needed. The lack of music adds to the intensity of the film and David Hayman's acting as the star of the movie is better than brilliant - he shows us pure evil, anger, sadness, and compassion, and every emotion seems as real as the other.

People say that beatings work against criminals so they think such violence should be used as a deterrent - this film proves exactly THE OPPOSITE - when Jimmy is treated like a human instead of being beaten, there is a drastic change which leads to him running a rehabilitation centre and preaching against gangs and violence.

The fact that VIOLENCE DOESN'T WORK AS A DETERRENT is what this film proves, evidenced by a man who's suffered loads of it.

Jimmy's 'sense of freedom' is when he is treated like a human instead of being beaten.

I say old chap!!

[thelaird · 28 November 2004]

I was so disappointed when I put this disc into my machine. The dialogue is dubbed in Standard Scots!! Even though in many cases it's the original actors supplying the dialogue, it still sounds very strange. Native Scots will find this difficult to watch due the strange accents. Accents that sound very unnatural. Accents that are neither Kelvinside nor Morningside. I have not made it to the end of this DVD because the dubbed soundtrack is so annoying and off putting.

The distributor missed a trick with this release. The American DVD release of Gregory's Girl has two soundtracks – English and Scottish. They could have done the same with A Sense of Freedom.

Let's hope that STV release this drama in its original form.