The Kid

Written by Kelly Rae Smith | 21 June 2010

The Kid, based on the best-selling autobiography by Kevin Lewis, is his own horrific account of growing up in a council estate in 1970s London. As a child, Kevin is locked away, friendless save for his drawings on the walls, and beaten by his haggard, chain-smoking mother (Natasha McElhone) while his alcoholic father consistently escapes to the pub. After temporary relief at a foster home, a cursory and gullible social worker mistakenly sends Kevin back home where, as a teenager, he is finally beaten unconscious and sent to a home that saves and forever affects him.

One of his school teachers also becomes a hero at this point, by physically ensuring Kevin's retreat to his new haven, and sending him off equipped with a set of headphones, cassette player and the classical music that beautifully soundtracks the entire film. 

Kevin's new father shows him the foreign feeling of affection, and supports him in every endeavour no matter how senseless or grand, until his unexpected death. This causes Kevin’s life to gruesomely unravel. Rupert Friend is the adult Kevin, with a performance that makes the hard realities to come so real, it's often unbearable to watch the harshness happen to a character with whom the audience undoubtedly sympathises and even loves.

In the events that follow, including the loss of his girlfriend and mortgage, and becoming a janitor by day, money-making punching bag by night, Kevin squirms in and out of danger and finally back to his derelict childhood home to attempt suicide. During this time, he also decides to document his life story in an effort to explain his emotional incapabilities to the woman he loves, his future wife, who would later transcribe his words and submit them for publishing, resulting in his 2003 autobiography.  

Stories, including very harrowing ones such as Precious, about troubled teens who find their way with the help of the teacher who went above and beyond, have, of course, been told before, but this film proves they should be told again and again because they're true. It's an inspirational story, with a cast and director that convey it with brilliance.    

Lewis has since followed up The Kid with another autobiography, The Kid Moves On.

Wednesday 23 June, 20.35, Cineworld

Thursday 24 June, 18.00, Cineworld