CERT - 15

Run-time - 1 hour 39 minutes

Director - Harris Dickinson

Released from prison after assaulting someone trying to help him, Mike (Frank Dillane) is trying to turn over a new leaf, however addiction battles and the prospect of becoming homeless again threaten a downward slope.

Harris Dickinson's feature debut as writer-director isn't a glitzy, mid-budget piece with a starry cast. The actor has risen dramatically over the last five years, and is set to play John Lennon in Sam Mendes' upcoming Beatles movies, but Urchin marks an assured, if still occasionally finding the ropes, voice behind the camera.

Reminiscent of Ken Loach's later work, Urchin begins with young Mike (Frank Dillane) homeless, trying to find a way to get a drink before finding a quiet, dry place to sleep at night. However, after being released from prison for assaulting and robbing a man offering to buy him some food (Okezie Morro's Simon) he aims to start afresh.

Employed in a hotel kitchen the work is stressful and acceptance from some co-workers rubs against tensions with others, mirroring his outside aims to stay calm and make amends with Simon with the help of counselors, and the struggle to maintain sobriety.

While more interpretative, metaphorical moments of imagery don't always seem to land the potential intended effect they're infrequent in the highly naturalistic surroundings of the narrative.

Mike is a sympathetic figure, although the more time we spend with him in the second half the more his behaviour becomes difficult to watch, especially the more isolated he finds himself from the rest of the world.

The second half of the film might not quite be on the same level as the brilliant first half, but there's still enough present to keep engagement and interest. What causes things to slightly lose their footing is the feeling that there are perhaps just one too many stages to the journey we see Mike take.

He encounters various faces in a short amount of time and their times in his life appear to become briefer, signalling the growing downward slope that's starting to form.

Dickinson, who also appears in the film as Nathan, another homeless man we're introduced to in a moment of key confrontation with Mike, clearly establishes the kind of director he wants to be, and takes inspiration from, with this debut.

Like the film, there's a quietness to his direction which leans into the world and characters, and I look forward to seeing what he does in future behind the camera.

With his central performance, Dillane too marks himself as a name to watch on the British indie film scene, alongside a number of the supporting faces including Karyna Khymchuk, who appeared earlier this year in the excellent On Falling.

There's a quietness to many elements of the film as things are focused on pushing the characters and the drama of Mike's various battles. While there might be one stage too many and not every detail lands there's still a solid indie debut here from Harris Dickinson.

Four stars