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Wild Bill (2011 film)

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Wild Bill
Directed byDexter Fletcher
Written byDexter Fletcher
Danny King
Produced byTim Cole & Sam Tromans
StarringCharlie Creed-Miles
Will Poulter
Liz White
Sammy Williams
Charlotte Spencer
Leo Gregory
Neil Maskell
Iwan Rheon
Jason Flemyng
Jaime Winstone
Olivia Williams
and Andy Serkis
CinematographyGeorge Richmond
Music byChristian Henson
Production
companies
Distributed byUniversal indiVISION
Release dates
21 October 2011 (London Film Festival)
23 March 2012 (United Kingdom)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£700,000
Box office£60,430

Wild Bill is a 2011 British film starring Charlie Creed-Miles and Andy Serkis, and directed by Dexter Fletcher. It was released in UK cinemas on 23 March 2012.

Plot

Bill (Charlie Creed-Miles) is released from prison on parole after serving 8 years for East London drug lord Glen (Andy Serkis). He returns to find his sons, 15-year-old Dean (Will Poulter) and 11-year-old Jimmy (Sammy Williams), have been abandoned by their mother, who moved to Spain with her boyfriend. Dean has dropped out of high school and is working on a construction site to make a living, but doesn't want Bill in his life and kicks him out. Bill is followed to the local pub by his former friends Dickie (Neil Maskell) and Terry (Leo Gregory). They offer him another job working for Glen, but he turns it down due to his parole. The next day, Bill goes to visit his parole officer Kelly (Olivia Williams), who, upon hearing that Dean and Jimmy were living by themselves, sends social services to the flat. Bill comes home and Dean forces him to stay, putting Bill's plans to move to Scotland on hold.

Bill walks Jimmy to school and meets the principal, who suspects Jimmy ditched school and broke all the school's windows. Bill lies that Jimmy went to visit his dying grandmother and the principal believes him. Jimmy and his friend Boz (Aaron Ishmael) sneak out of school and hang out with Terry and Pill (Iwan Rheon), another local drug dealer. They let Jimmy smoke pot and send him home. Dean attempts to start a relationship with Steph (Charlotte Spencer), a single mum and Pill's ex-girlfriend, who lives with her unemployed dad (Marc Warren). Bill meets Terry again and begins a friendship with his girlfriend Roxy (Liz White). Bill begins working as a sign holder and is mocked by Dickie and his friends. Using the money earned from his new job, Bill is able to buy food for him and his sons.

On Dean's 16th birthday, Bill goes to make a cake for him. He meets Roxy, who tells him a cake won't be a good present and offers an idea. Dean comes home from work and Bill offers to show him a surprise. He leads Dean to his bedroom, where Roxy is lying on his bed. He demands that Bill kick her out and they argue, until social services arrives to visit with John (Jason Flemyng), a police officer who despises Bill. Before they can check Dean's room, they decide to leave. The next day, Dickie and Terry begin cooking crack cocaine, while Roxy watches. Jimmy and Boz visit Terry, who gives them several bags of crack to sell. As they walk back to their flats, a police car stops and an officer talks to Boz. Panicking, Jimmy dumps the crack into the sewer and leaves with Boz. Dean asks Steph out and she invites him to her house the next night. Jimmy is caught by Terry, who attempts to break his hand as Roxy begs them to stop. She threatens to leave and Dickie hits her. They let Jimmy go, but tell him to have enough money for the crack.

At night, Dean visits Steph's house and is followed by Jimmy. As they begin to make out, Jimmy looks through the window and sees a tin full of money. He breaks in and steals the money, while Dean and Steph are interrupted by her father. He leaves and sees Jimmy standing outside the estate. He demands to know what Jimmy is doing. The next day, Roxy comes to the flat and asks Bill if she can hide with them. As Dean heads to work, he is confronted by Steph, who demands the money. He denies taking it, but she slaps him and leaves. Roxy tells Bill that Jimmy is selling drugs for Terry and his men. Bill confronts Pill and another drug dealer. As he attacks them, he sees Jimmy running away. He chases Jimmy to the top of a building, where Bill used to hide as a child, and begs him not to work for Terry. Jimmy decides to stop and goes home with Bill.

Terry confronts Jimmy, who says he isn't going to sell drugs. Social services visit and make Bill sign a document that will put him in charge of his sons, until Jimmy turns 18. Steph comes over to visit and Bill invites Roxy and Jimmy to help him buy dinner. Roxy and Jimmy go into the shop, while Bill waits outside. One of Terry's men watches in a car and a young boy approaches Bill. He tells Bill that Terry wants to meet with Bill at the pub the next morning, but doesn't tell Bill that they plan to kill him. Reluctant, Bill agrees to visit. Bill spends the night with Roxy, Steph and his sons.

The next morning, he heads to the pub and finds Terry sitting with Dickie and Pill at a table. He goes to drink and sees more men sitting around the pub. He realises what they have done and begins to exchange insults with Terry. The pub's owner gives Bill a wooden club and hides in the next room with his wife. As Pill attempts to attack Bill, but is hit by the club. Bill begins to attack Terry and his men, but is overpowered and they kick him repeatedly. Before they leave, he begins to knock most of them out with the club, leaving Dickie and Terry left. Dickie flees, while Terry is hit. Terry goes to his car, grabs a gun and storms inside. Terry attempts to shoot Bill, but he dodges and the bullet hits Pill in the head, killing him. As Terry approaches Bill and prepares to shoot him, he is knocked out by the pub owner, who tells Bill to go.

Bill runs home and finds Jimmy. Jimmy buys a bottle of water, which they use to clean his wounds. As they walk through the laneway, a car approaches them and stops. Jimmy grabs a wooden board and Glen comes out of the car. He confronts Bill about the attack and his refusal to work. Bill admits he attacked Glen's men in self-defence. However, he won't work for Glen, because the last time he did, he went to jail. Glen decides to spare Bill and promises him and his family protection. Bill and Jimmy arrive at the estate, as the police arrive. On the balcony, Roxy sees what is happening and runs downstairs with Dean and Steph. John says he knows what Bill did, but Bill denies it. As Dean, Roxy and Steph arrive, Bill is arrested and put in the back of the car. Bill looks out at his family, who wave goodbye to him. Before the officer drives away, Bill points out his sons and asks if the officer has any children. They drive away and Bill breaks down in tears. However, as he realises that his boys will be safe and love him, his tears fade and he begins to laugh with delight.

Production

The film was shot primarily in the East End of London. Fletcher cites directors such as Emir Kusturica, Franklin Schaffner, Gerard Johnson [1] and films like Black Cat, White Cat, Tony and Underground as influences.[2]

Cast

Reception

It holds a 100% rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes, based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10.

References

  1. ^ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies/interviews/a372572/dexter-fletcher-wild-bill-interview-you-learn-from-bad-directors.html
  2. ^ http://guru.bafta.org/dexter-fletcher-interview
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