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Through prison visits, day releases, and general everyday activity, Michael Winterbottom’s bold film examines the effect that a relatively significant jail sentence has upon a young family. Filmed over five years, with the family's four children played by real-life siblings, it is often painfully authentic feeling. However, Michael Nyman’s very loud score is frequently rather obtrusive, and some of the plot’s more dramatic moments sit rather awkwardly with the film’s otherwise generally restrained tone. Never the less, John Simm and Shirley Henderson's fine turns, the naturalistic performances of the children, and some deliciously lo-fi photography prove affecting.
