Are we supposed to root for the protagonist? A question I asked myself throughout the entirety of Harris Dickinson’s directorial debut, Urchin.
RATING: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
This review contains spoilers for the film Urchin.
Lead character Mike, played by British actor Frank Dilane, is selfish, greedy and pitiful. He lies, steals and takes shortcuts because he feels he deserves better without doing better.
We find him in his fifth year of sleeping on the streets, scavenging for food and intoxicated. To add to his misfortune, his frenemy, Nathan, played by Dickinson, steals his wallet. This was the beginning of Mike’s series of unfortunate, but semi-avoidable events.
Despite perpetually harping on being down on his luck, Mike is offered several chances to get back on his feet. After a prison stint, he gets a kitchen job, finds a place to live, makes friends and starts his sobriety journey. Even after he loses the first job, he manages to fall back on another, find a potential romantic partner and yet is still convinced he has the worst life imaginable. It’s almost as if he’s uncomfortable living outside a cycle of self-destruction.
This is not to say the entirety of his circumstances lies squarely on his shoulders as we don’t know what took place prior to those five years. However, it’s not lost on me that Mike is a cisgendered-heterosexual (though the sexual tension between him and Nathan was palpable) white man. Countless thinkpieces could be (and have been) written about levels of privilege, the cycle of addiction and capitalism, but the bottom line is even though Mike had a lot less hurdles to jump through than many others facing similar circumstances, he still felt he was above doing the bare minimum. That was the part that felt the most real. We all know a Mike; Someone who has ample opportunity, but is severely allergic to accountability.
As a massive fan of Dickinson, I was impressed, but not shocked by the quality of this film. Not only is he a brilliant actor, but the direction and screenplay were stellar. The cast lead by Dilane are also a talented bunch. Megan Northam as Andrea particularly stood out.
The last third of the film dipped in and out of reality to the point where I still can’t tell you what exactly happened at the end. I assume the whole fading back into a fetus means he died right? I would have liked a more conclusive ending, but I will find someone smarter than me (or a film bro who thinks they’re smarter than me) who can explain it.
Though Mike’s story is a tragedy, the film itself exudes a multitude of emotions with a score that enriches the journey. The humour and levity, in contrast with the more intense moments, keep you engaged throughout, and I thoroughly recommend experiencing Urchin in a theatre.
