The Selfish Giant

Overview

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Best friends Arbor (Conor Chapman) and Swifty (Shaun Thomas) don't have much but they have each other. Thirteen year old Arbor is short, mouthy and always ready for a fight. He'll do anything to protect his best mate Swifty whose gentle, caring nature makes him a magnet for bullies.

They live in a dismal working class area in Bradford, England, Arbor with his mum and drug-addicted brother and Swifty with his siblings and parents who struggle to put food on the table. Mounting bills cause seething tension in the overcrowded house.

When the two mates happen upon some scrap metal thieves Swifty sees a way out. Soon after they are both expelled from school for fighting and their scrap metal habit really takes off. The boys become more and more bold, stealing railway and electricity cable and flogging their loot to the local dodgy dealer nicknamed Kitten (Sean Gilder).

Clio Barnard's film is a contemporary interpretation of the Oscar Wilde short story of the same name. In this version the giant's high-walled garden is replaced with Kitten's grim scrap metal yard. He's also one of the key players in a dangerous and illegal horse and trap racing scene. Swifty finds favour with Kitten once he notices his talent for riding horses and the more unpredictable Arbor is pushed aside in the process. Crushed, this sets in motion a series of events which will ultimately have devastating consequences for everyone involved.

The power and compassion of the performances given by the two young protagonists is astonishing. The cycle of poverty in Bradford may be bleak but the bond between the two boys is incredibly heartwarming. This is a work of subtle brilliance.