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Dec 06, 2009fmaack rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This is a brilliant but chilling movie about a 23 year old who is released from jail after spending more than 10 years in prison for a crime he committed as a child. The names and some of the events have been changed but it's a movie about the James Bulger case in England in 1993. James Bulger was a four year old who was murdered by two 10 year old boys and left on railway tracks to make it look like an accident. I was12 when the case happened. I remember it well. We actually talked about it in school. We were all kind of haunted that kids our age could commit murder. The movie itself is very good. Andrew Garfield is excellent as "Jack" who takes on a new identity, a new home and a new job when he relocates to Manchester. He brings a lot of sympathy to the role of a troubled 23 year old who can't forget the boy he once was and what he did. Peter Mullan is also excellent as Terry who becomes Jack's surrogate father and guides him in his new life. Terry himself has troubles with his own son who was estranged from him for many years. The boys who committed the murder are shown in occasional flashbacks. They give quite a performance as troublesome kids. They're rebellious as most boys are at this age. The question I suppose the movie asks is what separates normal, rebellious boys from murderers. In this case it's Phillip who was the true sociopath and Jack/Eric who goes along with him because he doesn't have any other friends at the time. This is definitely a dark movie. The movie is pretty sympathetic to Jack who is supposed to be Jon Venables judging from the mugshots of the two real boys. The British justice system is quite different from the American one which we're continually bombarded with. The movie asks the question whether Jack really gets a second chance. The viewer is constantly reminded about how difficult it is for him to leave his past behind.