Scum 4K 1979

I don't know what the problem is, but when you compare British films about troubled teenagers with American ones, the British ones are much more honest and interesting, while the American ones tend to be pop, predictable, and clichéd. That's neither good nor bad. It's just the way it is.

The film Scum is a vivid example of what the disadvantaged segment of English society looks like (looked like), which the rest of society (including the authorities) didn't give a damn about. The film is about how a young hooligan survives and tries to break the rules and hazing in a correctional facility.

The film is a page-turner, with nothing superfluous.

I would boldly call this film the younger brother of the masterpiece ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest’.

Ray Winstone is very convincing. The scene with the billiard ball is revealing and defining. You need to turn up the TV to hear Ray's character hide the ball in his sock and tell the others to “Carry on” — he is terrified, but at the same time determined, because there is nowhere to retreat. Everything is lost except honor. He is breathing heavily, but he attacks his abuser.

A powerful and very truthful film without sentimentality.