Diary of a Bad Lad (2010)

No budget turd, unbelievable performances. Only thing good about this film is you can see how bad it is in the first two minutes so you can shut the thing off and stick it in the microwave on high before you die of boredom. Compare this film to a grade school play that your kid isn't in, so you don't have to watch it. The makers of this film ought to be embarrassed. They probably would have made more money by dancing in front of the bus station holding paper cups and calling for spare change. It sure would have been more entertaining to watch. Here is a tip for the makers: Next time you have an idea for a film, watch television instead, preferably reruns of "I Love Lucy". No reason we should be the only ones suffering. Avoid this refuse.

I'm not one for doing reviews, in fact this is my first review ever! I watched bad lad the other day for the second time, the first was a couple of years ago before it had been graded and polished, this second viewing struck a cord and so I then watched it again the same night, the reason for this was, firstly I thought it was soooo good but secondly I wanted to see if the clever script and superb directing had any flaws in it or maybe a few holes I could pick through, did it? Not as far as I could see, the story is complex in a very easy watchable way which sucks you right in and it just becomes so easy to follow. I loved the grubbiness of the film, the image has been DE-graded in parts which really adds to the gritty realism. The performances from all involved are what really stands out though, as the film was made on DV it would be easy to just dismiss the film as a cheap amateur production if you saw just a still, but let me just say that this is not the case at all, as I said before the grubbiness really adds to the realism in a way that if it had been filmed in HD it would have been too polished and so lack something in terms of realism, back to the performances, all the cast and crew which basically are the same thing in this film where utterly believable, the acting is so natural that it really helps you to be drawn into the story and watch it as if it was a real factual piece of work. I have always liked Shane Meadows films as he always has an element of real life which with his choice in unknown actors (in general) adds a sense of accessibility to his films, one thing though about Shane Meadows films is that he does tend to let his films down a little with the poor performances he gets from some of the less experienced actors and this is were Bad Lad differs, the acting is top notch, it is so good that it does not seem as though they are acting at all. I think it is unbelievable how this film has not had a huge success at the cinema, I know something about the politics involved with ultra low budget films but if Meadows can get films like 24/7 and once upon a time in the midlands released then there must be some hope for Directors like Michael Booth who with no money at all! Manages to make something which I personally think blows anything Meadows has ever made completely out of the water. Well done to all involved with the film and may I wish you all the best of luck for the future.... hip - hip - hurray

"He'll make you laugh, he'll make you think," sang Professor Fink in an episode of The Simpsons, and he could well have been talking about one of the folks behind Diary of a Bad Lad. The genius of this staggeringly-realistic faux documentary is that its black humour makes you laugh even as another part of you is thinking, "Oh my god - what these people are doing is horrific." It entertains hugely for an hour and a half, but leaves you with many unsettling thoughts on both the horrors of the crimes committed by the "Bad Lad" Tommy and the exploitative nature of the media and the ethics of journalists. These themes have never been more relevant than in these days of 24-hour news coverage when no-one thinks twice about broadcasting images of bleeding victims of terrorist attacks staggering into ambulances.I'm generally a fan of Hollywood-style movies with happy endings, slick camera-work, fun characters and traditional "good guys", so for a film that deliberately eschews all of these things to appeal to me is no mean feat - that it did is a testament to the quality of the writing, direction and performances. The illusion of the whole thing being a real documentary is damn-near perfect, with every scene written and performed in an utterly naturalistic fashion. This film desperately deserves a release.

When i say this movie changed my life i wouldn't be lying one bit. if a scene can stick in your head weeks after seeing it then your doing well. if multiple scenes still make you laugh, wince, cringe or grin to yourself weeks after seeing it, then your watching something special. This film will not be to everyones taste but then again nothing ever is, but the realism of how you follow 'Barry Lick' and his crew as they try to film a gritty, underworld documentary about Blackburn Gangsters will have you engrossed right until the multiple twist ending, which will no doubt leave you feeling angry and shocked (but I'm not saying anymore).Of all the gangster/underworld films I've ever seen i think this is the only film that now makes me not want to become a gangster or get up to no good. If your the kind of person that likes to be a bit naughty, then this film makes you feel like a naughty school child that has just been sent to the corner! The script is incredibly strong and most performances are realistic and not to melodramatic, in particular Joe O'Byrne as Tommy Morghen, Jonathan Williams as Barry Lick and Roxanne Gregory as Roxy amongst others. The locations and camera work aren't 'mega budget' but they don't have to be and shouldn't be (to an extent) as the film would lose its clout and realistic edge.It seems a shame that such a good and honest British 'No budget' film has not yet gone mainstream, i can only hope that it soon will and audiences will be able to watch a film that could and probably will give the British film industry quite a shakeup!