Definitely not to be confused with Charlie Chaplin’s debut feature or the more recent Disney flick with Bruce Willis, this The Kid is based on British author Kevin Lewis’s autobiography. Lewis adapted the book into the film’s screenplay, along with director Nick Moran (previously known for the biopic Telstar: The Joe Meek Story). Though we know at the outset that Lewis’s story must have a happy ending, considering that he’s a successful writer and has lived to tell the tale, The Kid is a relentlessly grim and difficult-to-watch experience.
It follows Lewis’s unhappy childhood, at the mercy of his abusive, alcoholic parents and in and out of a foster home, through to his young adulthood as a criminal. The problem is, although there is redemption at the end of it all, you have to wade through an hour and a half of unentertaining misery to get to it. To make matters worse, many of the roles and performances are clichéd and unconvincing.
In particular, Natasha McElhone contributes a truly cringeworthy performance as Lewis’s horrendous mother. Wildly overplaying, wearing laughable prosthetic make-up and screeching in an awful mockney accent, she seems like she’s wandered in from a pantomime, which is fatal to the disturbing scenes of domestic abuse. Elsewhere, Ioan ‘Hornblower’ Gruffudd struggles to bring depth to the stock character of Lewis’s sympathetic teacher.
It’s not enough for a film to simply wallow in despair for the majority of its running time, without offering an audience something more to take away from it than an “everything’s going to be alright” ending. A film as bleak as this needs to be nuanced and visually interesting, with spot-on performances, to be compelling and effective. Unfortunately, Moran’s film lacks these qualities.
The DVD itself is a good package, with a solid making-of doc and a couple of interviews. Of particular note is an interview with Lewis himself, who talks about the publication of his autobiography and its translation to film.
Overall Verdict: Hard work with little reward.
Special Features:
Interview with Kevin Lewis
Interview with Nick Moran
The Making Of The Kid
Q&A With Nick Moran and Con O’Neill
West End Premiere Footage
Reviewer: Tom René