The Selfish Giant, the acclaimed British drama starring Siobhan Finneran, is a perfect weekend watch for fans of natural storytelling. With visceral performances and a powerful story, this coming-of-age tale was lauded upon its release in 2013.
The film, from writer-director Clio Barnard, transposes Oscar Wilde’s 1888 short story of the same name to contemporary-era Bradford, with the narrative following two teenagers, Arbor (Conner Chapman) and Swifty (Shaun Thomas).
Disillusioned with school and their career prospects, the pair gradually earn money by selling stolen copper to a brutal scrap dealer named Kitten (played by Slow Horses star Sean Gilder). Though they earn their keep, the job becomes dangerous.
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Featuring Ralph Ineson and Finneran, who plays Swifty’s downtrodden mother, in supporting roles, the drama is currently available to stream on Curzon, which can be acquired as an add-on channel to existing Prime Video subscriptions.
After a seven-day free trial, Curzon costs £6.99 per month. If you’d rather not have a subscription, then the film can be rented on Prime Video for £3.49 or, alternatively, bought outright for £9.99.
Upon its theatrical release, The Selfish Giant garnered critical acclaim, with Rotten Tomatoes currently reporting a near-perfect approval rating of 98% from 84 reviews. Unsurprisingly, this is the highest-rated film of Finneran’s career.
“Starkly emotional and beautifully directed, The Selfish Giant uses a lovely script and some powerful performances to present some of the best that modern British cinema has to offer,” reads the site’s critical consensus.
The coming-of-age drama was similarly lauded by viewers, with IMDb currently reporting a user rating of 7.3/10 from 13,000 logs. In a 8/10 review, one user likened it to Kes, the classic ’60s drama from Ken Loach.
“This film is stunning – a visually powerful glimpse into a savage, precarious world, with humour and tenderness,” they noted. “The echoes of Kes are obvious, but with the destruction of that old industrial world the characters too are ambiguous and troubled.”
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“What makes the film work is that it still feels authentic in its performances and script. It’s perfectly reflected in its terrific cinematography,” wrote a second viewer, who called the drama “powerful and unforgettable”.
Finneran, who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 16th British Independent Film Awards for her performance in the film, recently had a cameo role as Fleur Edwards in the BBC detective drama Death in Paradise.
The Selfish Giant is streaming now on Curzon.
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Reporter, Digital Spy George is a freelance writer who specialises in Movies and TV. After graduating with a degree in Film Studies and Journalism from De Montfort University, in which he analysed the early works of Richard Linklater for his dissertation, he wrote for several websites for GRV Media. His film tastes vary from blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and John Wick to international directors such as Paolo Sorrentino and Hirokazu Kore-eda, and has attended both the London and Berlin film festivals.