Urchin

Frank Dillane plays a young addict living on the streets of London. In the course of the film, he ends up in jail, then gets out for a chance to succeed and more, including some “fantasy” sequences. This is the first feature for writer/director Harris **** (who also has a small part). He keeps his camera mostly static as events happen, some of which are important and others just for flavor. None of it is particularly interesting or moving…just flat events. Dillane gets a few short moments for emotion, but most of the time is less involving. **** moments of artsy escape are just that. The few glimpses into the character’s feelings don’t provide sufficient sympathy to make this more than an objective, somewhat distanced character study.

Homelessness and drug addiction are serious social and public health issues that have no easy answers, especially for those experiencing them. Moreover, despite compassion-based government and charitable programs aimed at addressing these problems, many in society at large are unsympathetic to those seeking to overcome these circumstances, making their recovery doubly difficult. Winning over supporters to these causes can thus be an uphill battle, but one way of doing so is depicting the harrowing challenges that the afflicted undergo on a daily basis. And this is where the directorial debut from actor Harris **** could have made an impact, but, sadly, it misses the mark. The film tells the story of Mike (Frank Dillane), a recovering addict who did time for assaulting and robbing a would-be Samaritan, chronicling his journey to rebuild his life after being released from prison. However, the unfocused narrative meanders wildly, coming across like a series of disjointed, randomly strung together events lacking any discernible sense of direction. What’s more, there’s virtually no back story, and the protagonist’s character development is nearly nonexistent. In fact, one could contend that it’s hard to see how Mike’s persona is truthfully a bona fide reflection of this offering’s title. Consequently, because viewers have little awareness of who they’re dealing with, it’s almost impossible for audience members to care much about what ultimately happens to this character, thereby defeating the aim of generating support for his redemption or the cause of his peers. On top of that, several surreal, impressionistic sequences muddy the waters even further, providing no additional clarity from either a literal or symbolic standpoint. Given the stunning lack of coherence or any meaningful attempt at making a case for these causes, I’m truly amazed at the overwhelmingly positive response the picture has received, including a surprising number of accolades from film festivals and critics’ organizations. “Urchin” has been named one of the Top 10 Independent Films of 2025 by the National Board of Review, and it captured two wins on four nominations at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, including a somewhat baffling best actor award for Dillane (it’s a good performance, but one worthy of top honors?). Every year it seems there are a handful of releases that undeservingly receive mind-boggling degrees of praise, and, in my view, this is definitely one of them for 2025. It’s equally disappointing that the film has failed to do more for spotlighting the issues at the core of its central premise. It never hurts to lend a helping hand, but it can be difficult to do so when one doesn’t have a clearer picture of how to proceed in the first place.