SCUM (Kino, 1979) D: Alan Clarke, w/ Ray Winstone, Mick Ford. Rating: NNNN Blu-ray package: NNN Rating: NNNN
In Scum, director Alan Clarke tells the story of kids in a borstal – the British version of juvenile prison – in a simple style that keeps the performances plain and realistic, avoids the use of music and contrasts stillness with sudden violence. There are beatings, rapes and suicide, all integral to the story and hard to watch.
The borstal system runs on a strict hierarchy and brutality. New kid Carlin (a very young Ray Winstone) arrives, gets beaten by the guards and the top con on his block. He learns the ropes and in one calculated move makes himself top con.
Another kid, Archer (Mick Ford), copes by playing the eccentric, walking such a fine line that you can’t always tell when he’s winding up the guards or saying what he really thinks. In part, he serves as the mouthpiece for Clarke and writer Roy Minton, who are more interested in exploring the system than in thrills or character study.
Scum was originally commissioned by the BBC, which took one look at the result and banned it outright. Two years later, Clarke reshot it as a feature. The extras examine that controversy, the production history, Clarke’s methods and the borstal system.
And if you like Scum, you should check out Clarke’s Made In Britain, a harrowing portrait of an incarcerated skinhead.
EXTRAS Winstone commentary, producers, writer and cast interviews. English audio. No subtitles.
