Adapted from the D.H. Lawrence short story of the same name, this is a perfectly proportioned tale of greed, class, callous contempt, parental neglect and the love of a child for it's mother. Director Peter Medak ('The Changeling', 'The Krays') and screenwriter Julian Bond ('The Ferryman'), with the help of their impressive cast - 'Yes, Prime Minister' regular Peter Cellier is in there too - manage to instill a dislocated sadness and a real sense of futility to the proceedings as Paul drives himself to desperate exhaustion while the adults, too wrapped up in themselves, fail to appreciate what's happening.
The limited runtime means much of the subtlety of Lawrence's story has been lost and for a more complete adaptation one should perhaps seek out the earlier film version starring John Mills, but it's still an immersive treat, although, to modern eyes, perhaps Medak should have been cautioned away from including a scene that features a young boy rocking wildly while yelling "Take me!", over the sound of a whip.
..........................................................................................
If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain
Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.
