a short film by David Leon and Marcus McSweeney 2010 | 19 mins | UK ›› Man and Boy the dangers of taking justice into your own hands. Like Timothy Smith's dramatic work Attack, this short film from the directorial partnership of David Leon and Marcus McSweeney perfectly illustrates that some things in life are not always as Black and White, as what they may at first appear. Not that a father prone to violence would see it that way, in particular when he suspects that his son has been sexually assaulted by the new tenant in the building. Rushing to confront the man without a jury in sight, but with a baseball bat in hand, events can only but go from bad to worse. Yet what really happened that day between the man and the boy? In a flashback driven work, David (I Don't Care) Leon, alongside co-writer Rashid Razaq have crafted a powerful piece on how events can rapidly spiral out of control, with deadly consequences. Alarmingly constructed, the gifted cast of four play their differing roles beautifully, with Geoff Bell dominating as a father out for revenge, leaving the exact relationship between the man, wonderfully portrayed by Eddie Marsan and the boy, Calum MacNab of The Firm credit with more questions, than answers, by way of a narrative that opts to hint of a teacher living in exile, for reasons undeclared and of a teenager whose sexuality is well, open to debate. The result is an expletive laden piece that is achingly realistic, courtesy of the Leon / McSweeney boys having based their film not on fiction, but rather on a real life story. All of which makes for a telling work on the dangers of taking justice into your own hands, in particular when not presented with the true facts of the matter from a boy for whom the expression "the innocence of a child," clearly does not apply. Gay Visibility - covert.  Nudity - none.  Overall - file under ... 4 stars.  ›› Available to buy from Amazon.co.uk.   available on DVD as part of the Peccadillo Pictures catalogue - 'Boys On Film: Cruel Britannia' release: 28.May.2012 / UK. Based on the real life story of Scott Campbell, who plunged to his death from the balcony of his flat in Bolton, while trying to flee a mob of vigilantes in 2008. starring: Eddie Marsan / Carson, Geoff Bell / Frank, Calum McNab / Alfie and Eddie Webber as neighbour Barry. official website: www.mphfilm.com Copyright 2012 David Hall - www.gaycelluloid.com. archive reference #483 ›› previous page | back to top | print me ‹‹