The Fence

The Fence

26/7/2024 1h 34m 6.9/10

Overview

The story kicks off on Hartcliffe council estate in Bristol during the early 1980s. It follows Steven Knight, a working-class boy who has his motorbike stolen the day he buys it. Teaming up with his scoundrel friends he desperately tries to track it down before it's gone for good.

Director

William Stone

Top Billed Cast

Sally Phillips

Sally Phillips

Sharon Knight

Alexander Lincoln

Alexander Lincoln

Wayne Pickett

Eugene Simon

Eugene Simon

Andrew Knight

Kitty Douglas

Kitty Douglas

Liz

David Perkins

David Perkins

Steven Knight

Lee Armstrong

Ricky Picket

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

11/5/2023

6/10

"Steven" (David Perkins) tries to help his mum get by, by working for a local butcher and then flogging a few illicitly caught trout to a local restaurant now and again. The dad (Neil Berrett) is pretty much a waste of space and his brother "Andrew" (Eugene Simon) is only just out on parole - adding to the headaches of their mother "Sharon" (a few, brief, appearances from Sally Phillips). "Steven" is quite a decent cove as it happens, and has saved up for his dream motorbike - well, it's more of a glorified moped, really. Anyway, he buys it, takes it for a hurl, leaves it outside his house and it's pinched. The police don't care, so he and his brother decide to track it down - easily done as it happens - and that puts in train a series of rather predictable, sometimes comically violent, daft escapades as the brothers tackle the local bullies, the local kingpin and make it clear that their family is not one to be messed with. It helps that it is set in Bristol - a more genteel environment for the cast on screen here. This would not have worked in a gritty, more working class city, but here you can overlook the "posh-boy" elements of the casting and just enjoy what is a quite well written and decently directed low-budget feature. The ending is a wee bit farcical, but there's familial chemistry to be seen here and the acting, though not likely to garner a BAFTA, makes for an engaging look at a family looking out for each other. No, you won't remember it afterwards - but it is worth a watch and you're bound to recall some of the music if you were around in the eighties.

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