A street-toughened parolee finds his two boys abandoned by their mum and fending for themselves. Time to step up, or not.A street-toughened parolee finds his two boys abandoned by their mum and fending for themselves. Time to step up, or not.A street-toughened parolee finds his two boys abandoned by their mum and fending for themselves. Time to step up, or not.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 3 wins & 8 nominations total
- Jonas
- (as Rad Kaim)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDirectorial debut of Dexter Fletcher.
- Quotes
Wild Bill: [discovering his youngest son's been helping sell crack] First year's the hardest.
Jimmy: What?
Wild Bill: Yeah that's what they say. "First year's the hardest." It weren't for me. Second year, that was the real killer. First year you can still remember the world - your home, your pals, Sunday roast, what it's like to take a dump without someone watching you. Second year, that's when the hope starts to leave ya. No one left to trust. No one you really like 'cause you're in prison. Everyone's a criminal. They all want to fuck you over. You don't want to go to sleep 'cause, whatever you got, it'll be nicked by the bloke you share your cell with... whose farts and stink you have to put up with twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Don't want to make friends with no one because, if you do, you make an enemy somewhere else. Nancies who want to rump ya. And, oh, yeah, blokes who don't think nothin' about creeping up behind you with a shank and sticking it in your throat. Do you know what the worst thing is? Do ya? You get used to it. So, Jimbo, what are you gonna do?
- ConnectionsFeatured in Projector: Wild Bill (2013)
- SoundtracksThe Guns of Brixton
Performed by The Clash
Written by Paul Simonon
Published by Universal Music Publishing Ltd
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd
Wild Bill Hayward (Creed-Miles) is just out of prison after serving eight years. Heading home he finds his two sons Dean (Poulter) and Jimmy (Williams) fending for themselves after their mother abandoned them. Bill hadn't planned on hanging around, but if he doesn't then the boys will be taken into care. More pressing is that the local drug runners have got young Jimmy working for them, Bill might just have to take his parental responsibilities to another level and justify his Wild reputation.
Splendid piece of British grit and wit, Wild Bill follows in the traditions of films directed by British actors, who for their debut directing assignment impressed with the ability to grab the attention and no loosen the grip. Fletcher has done a bang up job here, managing to turn what could have been a standard dysfunctional family melodrama into something more meaningful, engaging and suspenseful.
Story is set to the backdrop of working class London, where the building of the Olympic stadium serves as a beacon of hope in the distance, while our principal characters struggle through a world of grimy flats, empty pubs, dirty cafés and drug infested council estates.
The narrative operates on two fronts, Bill (Miles superb) is trying to keep on the straight and narrow, as he candidly observes, if his dog craps on the pavement he will get 18 months back in prison! But as he tries to build a relationship with his two sons, especially the older and more colder Dean, circumstances are drawing him back into the violent world he desperately wants to leave behind. It's this angle that gives the film its suspense, as viewers we are wondering if Bill can achieve his goals, will he get a break, will the family become one unit?
Elsewhere the film operates as a coming of age story, where Dean has had to grow up real fast to look after his younger brother, even taking on employment at the age of 15 to provide for Jimmy and himself. Then there is matters of the heart, as he is strongly attracted to local girl Steph (Spencer), this aspect is very well handled by Fletcher, who gets the excellent Poulter to deftly portray those early nerves when Cupid starts to draw back its bow, the tentative fumblings of young love easily identifiable to us all.
Pic is full of familiar British faces, most of them just stopping by in cameos to lend friendly support to Fletcher's project. They all offer a reassuring presence to proceedings, adding further weight to what is damn fine debut picture. Sometimes violent, often heart warming and tender, and very laugh out loud funny, Wild Bill is a winner. 9/10
- hitchcockthelegend
- Mar 21, 2014
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Details
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $194,099
- Runtime1 hour 38 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1