Director Alan Clarke always had a knack for spotting raw , young British acting talent . He gave breakthrough roles to Ray Winstone in SCUM and Gary Oldman in THE FIRM and in 1982 gave an unknown actor called Tim Roth the lead in this television drama from David Leland . Somewhat surprisingly it took a few years after these breakthrough roles for these three actors to become better known but the star quality all of them showed is in luminous abundance and that's all down to ClarkeRoth plays Trevor a 16 year old Nazi skinhead and what Leland's script is superb at is not portraying Trevor as some sort of misunderstood youth who is just in need of a mere cuddle but in need of some harsher measures . It makes the ironic point that bleeding heart liberals are incapable of understanding that in dealing with violent sociopaths then perhaps draconian solutions themselves bordering on fascism may be needed Indeed Leland's script is replete with irony . Trevor painted not so much as a demon but as someone who sees himself as being merely more honest than society demands lives his life in an honest way . He is racist and wears his racism as a violent badge of honour because it's only hypocrites who don't do this . Appearing in court his caustic attitude and lack of remorse is again a badge of honour . After all it's very cowardly to show repentance and sorrow when you're in court facing serious charges especially when you're not sorry in the slightest . The only difference between Trevor and the average teenager is that Trevor's resentment and anger at the world manifests itself by actions . Remembering my own teenage years wanting to strike back at the oppressive and hypocritical and frankly BS nature of society there is an aspect of recognition that means I could empathise with Trevor and like SCUM this television play was a very memorable for any teenager who saw it . Anyone who puts a concrete slab through a jobcentre window instantly becomes a hero to an umemployed teenager MIB does have the cajones to point out that some people are beyond redemption . You can condition people all you like but at the day some people will be always be racist ( Regardless of their colour ) and violent thugs . To their way of thinking it's the rest of society who are the bad guys because society is contradictory and ruled by hypocits and cowards . The only thing these people respect is a bloody big stick which may shock the bleeding heart liberals but is perhaps the only solution to the problem . If MIB is making the point that the solution is that there are no solutions it does so brilliantly . If there's any reason to be sad watching this it's only to lament how gutless British television has become in the 21st Century . 30 years ago Britannia ruled the television airwaves but not anymore

I have to say that I was disappointed with the ending. I enjoyed the journey, but felt let down by where I got dropped off.Actually, I say I enjoyed the journey, but actually even that was pointless. Trevor is an angry young man is he? More like Trevor is a moron (if only he'd been called Gordon). Why was he angry? Why was he rebellious? The superintendent gave a wonderful assessment of how he got to where he was. And it was all his own fault. No-one had put him there and no-one was forcing him to stay there. The script was not deep enough to give credence to Trevor's mindset.Also, there are contradictions – such as Trevor's racism towards the Pakistan man and yet he openly cavorts with Errol. Yes he stitches him up in the end, but he's happy to be seen with him and takes him on his sprees. A true racist wouldn't be seen in the company of Errol.Finally, and I know Roth fans will jump on me for this, but Roth is not that convincing as a hard-as-nails, scary skinhead. Yes he can snarl and yes he can shout and yes he can walk like he's meant to be hard, but it's not there in his eyes. He just doesn't convince.If you want an example of someone who played a racist, with intelligence and scared the whatsit out of me – then look at Ed Norton in American History X.And no – I am not American. I am British and grew up in the 70's and 80's in London.

Hey Franz. You obviously don't understand that this is a benchmark film in the career of Tim Roth. It is a classic tale of an urban struggle of a young white man in Thatchers Britain. Coming from experience the film deals with all aspects of "A life gone off the rails" due to "repression" and missunderstanding". Not to say that the lead character Trevor wasn't entirley correct on his views but there are still people in society who have come from broken homes and this film is still relative. By the way if you don't rate this film why the hell are you even on the net writing about it. For all the genuine fans out there i wanna say this is my favorite Roth film and always will be. I am in no way racist and hold no views such as the ones expressed in the film. Thanks. KMP3000

I saw this film whilst studying in London, and though it isn't exactly pleasant, it does capture your imagination. Roth's performance is as brutal and realistic as everyone says, and the rough, hand-held style of the camera-work contributes to its documentary feel. I don't think I am alone when I say these things; however, I hesitate to talk about how this movie stacks up to other films about skinheads, particularly American HISTORY X. The fact that both movies include the nationality of the main characters says it all--as much as we might like to think that all skinheads are alike, insomuch as they are all equally stupid, Trevor wouldn't make sense in America and Derek Vinyard (Ed Norton's Chararter in AHX) wouldn't make sense in Britain. Each character is a unique product of their country's history, politics, racial attitudes, and ideas of self. Thus I don't think either character--or either movie--can really be evaluated in terms of the other. And while the lead performance is captivating, and might be worthwhile for Tim Roth fans (legend has it Tarantino was inspired to cast him in Reservoir Dogs after seeing this performance), I can see why this film has not been a big hit in the United States. As I said before, the issues discussed in the movie are specific to a particular moment in Britain's social history, and don't translate well. For example, the ending shows Trevor and his new black friend teaming up to assault a South-Asian merchant. This cross-racial animosity toward South-Asian immigrants is reflective of Britain' unique experience with multiculturalism, and wouldn't make much sense to Yanks, given our country's racial history and patterns of immigration. I would recommend this film for the lead performance, and perhaps for its potential to inform the viewer about certain aspects of Britain's multicultural history.