Neds is the third film by director Peter Mullan (who’s most famous for his acting role in My Name is Joe) yet even in this small body of work (which also includes Orphans and The Magdalene Sisters) he has been consistent in the kind of plots and themes he likes to explore; usually setting his films in deprived working class areas, where characters struggle to deal with the pressures of an unforgiving environment.
In recent years the Scottish government have tried to clamp down on its ‘ned’ culture (Ned being a modern acronym for ‘non-educated delinquents); particularly the ‘tracksuit-wearing youth, who are often the cause of anti-social behavior’; so despite being set in the past, by calling his film Neds, Mullan raises questions about how we perceive the youth culture of today.
Set in a tough area of early 1970s Glasgow, Neds follows the descent into gang-life and violence, of the bright and studious John (played by Gregg Forest, then later by the older Conor McCarron); a teacher’s pet in his final year before entering high school, who’s mother and teachers have big aspirations for him, before we’re introduced to John’s older brother (one of the leaders of the local gang) and we are shown what John might turn into if he goes down that same path; with all the usual explanations are present for why some youths become involved in violent gang-life; a knife-wielding brother to look up to, an alcoholic father who barely shows a flicker of humanity, a mother too scared to say anything, and most of all boredom with school and the area in which he lives.
The film’s pivotal moment comes when John returns to school after the summer holidays having lost the studious, hard-working, side to his character and replaced it with an aggressive attitude towards the teachers and a desire to disobey all orders given to him; beginning the gradual journey that will see John relinquishing any aspirations the school and his mother might have had of him being able to achieve success, and becoming what society expects him to become, a ned.
Mullan found most of the actors for this film by putting an advert in a local newspaper; a method of casting that lends an authenticity to the film (and like much of Mullan’s work casts first-time actors to great effect, but may leave non-Glaswegian viewers longing for a translator to help them understand the dialogue) which is vital to the picture as Neds is based on the very real experiences of Peter Mullan growing up in a tough part of Glasgow in the 1970s. Thankfully the inexperience of the young actors hardly shows and all, the gang members in particular work well together; managing to riff off each other and come across as threatening yet human at the same time; although special praise must be reserved for Connor McCarron, who turns in a mature performance as the older John; his face passive not often betraying emotion, and conveying a tremendous screen presence that hopefully will allow him to go on making appearances in future films.
Often with films looking back at the ‘70s there’s a certain degree of rose-tinted nostalgia (Cemetery Junction springs to mind), but Neds isn’t like that; Mullan prefers to paint a picture of an era that is unflinching in its depiction of violence as being part of everyday life; and while it may make for difficult viewing (and is certainly not a film to take the whole family to see) it is refreshing to see the 1970s shown as not just a decade where things were much more simple and amicable.
Tone changes very quickly throughout; flitting between brutal violence, laugh-out-loud one liners, and fantasy dream sequences at will; and while this is perhaps done to illustrate the uncertainty of life in such a setting, it leaves the viewer disorientated, and makes it more difficult to comprehend the actions of the characters, and empathise with them (John’s transformation from classroom pet to violent sociopath is done too rapidly to rationally comprehend, and therefore it’s difficult to be on his side).
Neds opens well-enough, and manages to hold the attention of the viewer, but after John has made the leap to becoming a gang-member it begins to drag and lacks any sense of direction; to the point that even the violence becomes repetitive; and the film can be summed up by its final sequence; which is beautifully shot but lacks a distinct sense of direction, leaving the viewer asking ‘….what now?’
If anyone ever doubted that growing up in a rough part of Glasgow can be tough then Neds will put them right (that much is certain; Love Actually this is not), however it does try to do too much; confusing the viewer into wondering what the point of it really was; the main positive is Peter Mullan’s continuing ability to make films that are as unique in their outlook on society as they are in the way they are shot, and whilst Neds won’t be a contender for any major awards this year, it will enrich the landscape of British cinema, simply by being onscreen.
