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Spongey wrote on 04/18/2011:

I wanted to like this movie, but I just didn't. It started it promising, but then it sort of lost steam and it didn't seem to know where it was going. The acting left much to be desired, which is not uncommon for gay indie films, but some of it was truly bad. I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters.

dangerousman wrote on 11/17/2010:

Shank has become one of my favorite movies. It is moving into the top 10. This movie has violence and love. I thought the main character would go back to the street and end of being with is best friend. To say, I enjoyed the twist and turn of the movie.

Gaelan wrote on 03/19/2010:

Really liked this one. Well written. Well acted. Well directed. Well cast. Its gritty, but real and kept my attention. Really impressive, as some of the actors had never done a film before.

The characters are multi-dimensional, evolving from the first impression of them as stereotypes until you are able to feel for all of them on some level.

Wayne Virgo and Marc Laurent are wonderful. The supporting cast is also very, very good.

I hope these folks keep making films and getting better and better.

Grady wrote on 01/02/2010:

SHANK is an important debut film for director Simon Pearce (apparently only 21 years old) and writers Darren Flaxstone and Christian Martin. The story has the courage to be honest enough to view gang behavior and the cross section of needs that gang membership provides to young lads in search of their true identity: first comes identification through 'belonging' to like lost souls, and second comes the breakthrough of self discovery. The fact that this rather terrifying tale is based on fact as lived by the writers adds to the punch the film carries.

Cal (Wayne Virgo) is the vulnerable lead lad, a member of a Bristol gang led by a rather despicable female Nessa (Alice Payne) who finds pleasure in 'filming' the gang's bashing of victims. Cal takes on this trait by seeking out victims for release of his same sex energy, using drugs to render his victims cooperative, films his conquests using a cellphone camera, and then beats the victims bloody: an early scene illustrates this behavior with a teacher named Scott (Gary Summers) who while recovering shares the incident with an off screen therapist, gradually unfolding the fact that Scott's partner was abused by this same gang. While Cal displays this pugilistic behavior in secret, in the presence of his gang his physical attraction to fellow gang member Jonno (Tom Bott, in an impressive film debut) surfaces - an attraction that appears to be reciprocal were it not for the forbidden arena of same sex love. The gang attacks a young French exchange student Olivier (Marc Lambert), but Cal cannot tolerate the abuse of this obviously innocent gay lad and follows him, offering him a ride home, and eventually merging into accepting his sexual identity with the kindness of Olivier's open heart. Once the gang discovers Cal's desertion, the stalking begins and Jonno awakens to his own needs for Cal - much to the chagrin of the coarse Nessa. There is a final confrontation between Cal and Olivier and the gang, and Jonno exacts his revenge and devastation in a brutal attack. The manner in which the characters resolve their needs and find themselves is the ending of the film.

The young cast is excellent and the varying chemistries among them is credible. The film is a British Indie and would be more impressive if the dialogue was not so covered with extraneous sound and by the use of Bristol accents which are all but unintelligible. Virgo, Laurent and especially Bott make strong impressions for a debut outing. This team will likely be heard from in additional films. Grady Harp

CJS wrote on 07/27/2009:

I saw this movie at Frameline where it was nominated for best picture. The movie is certainly engrossing at the outset; the setting and characters are well-established, the violence elicits visceral responses from the audience, and a sense of conflict between feelings of sympathy and outrage towards the main character quickly emerges in the audience. A compelling plot develops in the movie's second act, and I, along with most people, was eagerly anticipating the movie's climax.

Unfortunately, that is where the movie completely derails, and the youthfulness of the writers is glaringly revealed. People were openly laughing at the developments during the final confrontation, and many of the characters' actions made absolutely no sense. Still, the movie was enthralling for about two-thirds of the running time, and that is why the movie was up for best picture at the festival.

The acting ranges from outstanding (Wayne Virgo's performance is extraordinarily compelling) to laughable. The script is equally variable. Certainly, though, there is promise for the director and the writers. For those whose decisions may be influenced by it, there is ample nudity in the film, though most of it is from Wayne Virgo (but all four of the main male characters have at least fleeting frontal nudity).