The Feral Generation

Plot

In 2004, a Home Office survey revealed that there are 20 to 60 youngsters, aged 16 to 24, living rough in each inner city in the UK. They are responsible for vast levels of crime and in almost all cases they have come from broken homes and a history of abuse, both physical and sexual, most of the time inflicted on them by their own parents. Nikki, 18, fled a sexually abusive homelife and a succession of foster families to live on the street. There she met Vincent, 24, the product of heroin addicted parents. Together they spend their days trying to survive the perils of living rough and supporting their own drug addictions. They are wild,unwanted and in love. They are The Feral Generation.

Reviews

"So here’s my take on The Feral Generation. I think Andrew Jones has pulled off a genuinely objective, dispassionate study of an aspect of modern life about which it is very hard indeed to be either dispassionate or objective. The Feral Generation is not a film that casts judgements - we are left to do that for ourselves - but it simply documents in detail something which we normally only see briefly at a distance...This is terrific acting, this really is award-winning stuff.And it is helped by Jones’ amazing dialogue which manages to be realistic and credible enough to fit in the mouths of these characters yet at the same time erudite enough to hold our attention and make us think about what is being said...

Frankly, some of the direction is astounding; there are some pauses in the interviews that seem to last forever and shots of the couple hugging and tearful which last even longer. This is incredibly assured and confident work for a young director on his second feature. The Feral Generation is a magnificent film, powerful but not preachy, serious but not sentimental. In terms of storytelling it’s simply masterful: stunning acting, excellent script, amazing direction, supremely competent on every technical level."

Review of The Feral Generation by film critic MJ Simpson.