This tale of two brothers, lost love, family upheaval could have so easily have failed on the screen. Due to the acting of Jessop and Hoult, the film turned out to be one of the most rewarding watches of the year. Hoult, who has been in a rash of TV and cinema performances recently, affirmed his status as one of the screen's brightest young stars. Jessop was just astounding....graduating his performance as the film progressed, shedding his skin so to speak.What could have been so mawkish turned out to be a serious display of the screenwriters art, and all the cast deserve praise for bringing such realism to the screen. I rate this film as 9 out of 10.

I see why it wasn't released as a film as it has an acquired taste.However i thought that it was amazing. I thought the actors behaviour to each other was very believable and i liked the whole plot of the story.I'd have to really think to come up with a bad point on this story and id only probably ever come up with the fact that the fall from the cliff was left to be seen as not that much of a deal.They could have made a more of a deal about it.But its a must watch and will have you fixated to the TV screen.Best TV released movie I've seen in ages. 10/10

I was intrigued by this drama from the start and was rewarded for watching it. Great performances from Nicholas Hoult and Tommy Jessop and excellent writing from Mark Haddon following on from his brilliant novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime. I empathised so much with Ben and how he was treated by his horrible parents and yet the film portrays so much about human relationships particularly relationships with children/adults with special needs. I know from working with adults with special needs how much that interaction has added to the richness of my life experience. I highly recommend this drama to anyone bored with the some of the dross churned out by Hollywood.Go for it!!

The style in which this drama was filmed is comparable to that of "skins", Nicholas Hoult's preceding work, however the depth of this one-off drama is stunning.I admit the first 15/20 minutes tried my patience a little due to the script containing a somewhat clichéd storyline: Troubled boy meets bad girl who inevitably does bad things once troubled boy is forced to move away by bad parents. However,the storyline then takes a rather sudden turn which transforms it from "another troubled-teen drama" to a brilliantly original and touching piece of work.Dave (Nicholas Hoult) is driven into depression with the responsibilities that come with having a brother, Ben, with downs syndrome, a condition that is characterized by considerable learning difficulties. Ben is not however the direct perpetrator of Dave's misery. The parents are to blame. After being forced away from London, away from all his friends and girlfriend in order to accommodate for Ben's education, Dave is pushed over the edge. He kidnaps Ben and they hitch to Snowdonia with their camping equipment. The scenes of Dave's overt hatred for his brother are distressing but your empathy finds it is with both the boys, not just Ben. In a heart-stopping sequence on top of a mountain when the resent for his brother is at its climax, Dave appears to have passed over all reason and the event that follows stunned us all.The entire family watched this drama and all, without hesitation, agreed it was exceptional. Although the story was heart-rendering for the most part, the happiness and subtle humour that ensued in the last scenes left a positive atmosphere. The poignance of the drama, however, is not forgotten.Beautiful scenery,appropriate music and Stunning performances from both Hoult and Tommy Jessop. What more could you ask for from a drama?