I watched a screening of this movie at a film festival, and had noexpectations prior to watching the movie. At first, i was stunned bythe incredible soundtrack which really adds to the movie. "The Kid" isbeautifully shot, and the story is compelling and full of emotion. Iwas lucky to see this movie early on, and I recommend it to mostpeople. Especially the cast is very well casted. The characters arebelievable, and you grow to love them (and in some cases hate them),and to me, this is what great acting is about. You start to care forthe character, especially knowing that it's based on a true story

Amazing movie with great actors, Worth seeing even if you are not a bigfan of the genre

British films tend to be either comedies about class (Full Monty et al)or rock hard dramas. This is the latter without a doubt, but it is notout and out gangster violence - it is a serious and thoughtful dramapunctuated with several bare knuckle fight scenes and frankly the homelife is starker. For my money this is the best British drama since theexcellent Brick Lane and it bought to mind most though earlier films ofthe 80s, the era it depicts, Mona Lisa and The Long Good Friday.

Yes, it is gritty and the script doesn't need any Nick Hornby touchesto get to reality - this is a frankly startling look at the undersideof an abusive family and the story of the Kid and how he tries againand again from childhood to manhood to get out from under only to findhimself trapped again and again by unbelievable twists of fate.

Knowing this is based on a true story adds poignancy.

This really is an involving film, even given the excessive language andviolence which in its context is (just about) justifiable.

At the end of the day this was, for me, a brilliant drama, totallyengrossing, well-made, the performances were unbelievably believable,though God help the child that has parents like that.....

Highly recommended as being one of the best and strongest Britishdramas - it captures the spirit of the 80s and the amazing true storyinvolved.

We saw the pre-release showing of THE KID and we were also treated to apre-film introduction and an after film Q & A session with the filmsdirector NICK MORAN (Director - TELSTAR, Actor - Lock, Stock and twosmoking barrels, and Harry Potter - The Deathly Hallows parts 1 & 2).

THE KID, is the true story of the despair to riches tale of KEVIN LEWISwho grew up in a violently dysfunctional family on a badly deprivedSouth London council estate, who eventually managed to drag himself outof the quagmire … and up, and out into the sunshine of a decent lifefor himself … finally getting credit for an internationally acclaimedbest-selling inspirational novel "THE KID" based upon his own lifestory …

The director of the movie NICK MORAN, had a close association withKevin Lewis (who the film is based on) during the making of the film –and this paid great dividends in the directors ability to capture andportray on film the anguish and torment that occurred through Kevin'slife and his struggles to barely survive.

After being removed from his own family for his own safety … thenmoving through a succession of failed placements with Foster parentsand care home institutions … Kevin finally finds a decent environmentwhere he starts to prosper … until the untimely death of one of thefoster parents that puts him back into a downward spiral of commitmentsand debts

Kevin then finds a "pseudo-family" in the form of some undesirablecharacters from the underworld that offer to help him … but in realitythey are just using his naivety to exploit him for their own gain … atmuch cost to himself … in the shape of some very violent"street-fighting" matches … with no rules and no-holds barred ...appearing under the pseudonym of "The Kid"

Against the odds Kevin manages from the very depths of despair, tofinally turn his life around for the better …

The music for the film is inspiring, along with the casting … the threeactors who play Kevin through early childhood – through his schoolyears to his later years are very good (especially the parts played byAugustus Prew and Rupert Friend as the middle and later Kevins).

There are strong support roles played by Edward Fox and Shirley-AnneField as the "good" foster parents and Bernard Hill as "Uncle David" –but the star of the show without doubt is the casting of NataschaMcElhone (Californication, Solaris) – just how they can transform sucha beauty into such a ugly, murderous, psychopath of a deranged Motheris something to see … she steals every scene she is in … much akin toCharlize Theron's performance in MONSTER … who knows … perhaps Nataschamay well follow a similar (deserved) path down the awards trail …

The Director mentioned in the Q&A session that the film was shot on16mm film – and when this is blown up to full screen size you cansometimes detect a slight graininess with some shots – however I don'tthink this detracted at all from the ambiance of the film

This isn't meant to be a "pleasant" movie, it is quite hard-hitting(sometimmes literally) … and the violence will not be to all tastes –as it is based on a true story and therefore keeps closely to thenarrative of the book … but, I do believe that it is worth seeing … andhopefully you'll get the pay-off of a feel-good factor at the end …

THE KID is 111mins long, comes out on general release on FRI 17th Sept2010, and it should be noted that the film contains some violence thatwould not be suitable for all ages

A great story well handled by Director: Nick Moran, who guides usthrough the life of the main character Kevin Lewis. The film is set inthe 1980's and early 90's and looks and feels right with camera workand film lighting that supports the storyline. However, it is RupertFriend's performance that sets the high standard for this film. Thecharacter is carefully observed to provide a man who is not aggressivebut can explode when pushed. For me the biggest achievement is that thefilm deals with violence and in no way glamorises it.

Why would you go and see this film? Because it is a story of a manssurvival thoughtfully made and performed and the temptation to make itinto a 'Lock Stock' fairytale has been resisted.