Shank

Plot synopsis:
The film is set in Bristol (several shots feature the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and one appears to show the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta). Cal (Wayne Virgo) is a 19-year-old closeted gay gang member who has nothing in his life except drugs, sex, random acts of violence and a secret that he keeps hidden from his mates. An online hookup for sex with a stranger, Scott (Garry Summers), ends in him assaulting and abandoning Scott out in the countryside. This temporarily satisfies but fails to dampen his unspoken desires for his best mate, Jonno (Tom Bott). Nessa (Alice Payne), their twisted, foul-mouthed and controlling, de facto gang leader who harbours much hatred towards everyone for losing a child at the age of 14, suspects that there is something going on between them but she can't put her finger on it. Jonno, putty in Nessa's hands, can't express his own deep rooted and unrequited attachment to Cal. Manipulating situations that bring her closer to having her suspicions confirmed, Nessa sets out about dividing loyalties and encouraging conflict.
For no good reason an innocent student, Olivier (Marc Laurent), falls victim to one of her plans and is mugged on her orders by the gang. Cal steps in to restrain them and creates a distraction allowing Olivier to run free. Ignoring Nessa's screams of contempt, he chases after him and offers him a lift by way of an apology. Fearing that the fall-out from Nessa for his actions will be harsh, Cal persuades Olivier to help him out. Seizing the moral high ground and sensing that there was something more to Cal's Good Samaritan act, Olivier allows Cal to stay with him for a few days. Acting on his own attraction to Cal, Olivier seduces him and in doing so, exposes Cal to new emotions and a tenderness that he has never experienced before.
Soon, the boys are overtaken by the embrace of the first flush of love. Cal and Olivier's relationship progress, but Olivier is warned by Scott, who happens to be one of his professors, to be wary of Cal. Scott gives Olivier his phone number and tells Olivier to contact him if he is ever in need of help. Nessa can't contain her rage for Cal's disloyalty to the gang and sets about hunting him down, intent on destroying him once and for all. With her gang in tow and Jonno tightly wound up, she kidnaps Olivier, taunting Cal with video messages via her mobile phone, to come and save his boyfriend. Arriving at the abandoned factory where they are all waiting for him, he reveals that he is equally hurt by the child she lost, as he was the father. Meanwhile, Jonno and the other gang members begin to destroy Cal's car before they turn toward him. As the showdown unfolds, Nessa loses all control of events and Jonno explodes in act of sexual aggression by raping Cal and leaving everyone traumatized. Shocked by what she has witnessed, Nessa realizes she will now never be able to break the bond between Cal and Olivier while she and the other gang members flee. Olivier then contacts Scott for help and he rescues them and tends to Cal's wounds.
As the film ends Cal sends Scott a video of the man being beat up in the opening scenes of the movie, with the message "Sorry". That man turns out to be Scott's husband (they both wore wedding rings) who is still in a coma at the hospital. Cal throws away his phone, before joining hands and boarding a train with Olivier, severing his last remaining link to the gang and his old life.

Tags: violence

Review:
Shank tells the story of a closeted gang member Cal (Wayne Virgo) who is deeply in love with his best friend Jonno (Tom Bott).
Their anger grows and tragic consequences ensue when they discover Cal's secret.Shank is set in a world not usually explored in gay cinema and as a coming out story there is a lot to be admired here.
I didn't believe that the street tough would go for someone like Olivier.In contrast, the sexual tension between Cal and Jonno was electric.
Bott's performance was flawless, subtly portraying a range of complex conflicting emotions.Alice Payne turned in a promising performance as Nessa, and Wayne Virgo in the lead managed to hold the film together.Near the end of the film a series of events occur that simply didn't seem plausible in the grander scope of the movie.
It is disturbing.It depicts a very real story that looks at a young gay gang member hiding from his fellow hoodlums his sexuality whilst engaging in dangerous and at time's very unsafe sexual practices without their knowledge.Only a chance encounter (and subsequent love affair) with a victim of the gangs abusive streak arrests his spiral and descent into the hell of the ultimately bored undereducated unemployed subculture that does hang out on Britain's street corners intimidating all those who appear to have more to their lives than they do!
It's unique interwoven story deserves at least a 9 out of 10 on its own.It might not be comfortable viewing for many but it packs a punch that resonates for a long time afterwards - a mark of a good film.
It is by far the most original film with a gay central character that I have seen in a long while and I have seen plenty.
Buy it, don't rent it and don't steal it off an illegal site (like a certain person I know did) - these film makers deserve to get every penny for their effort in the vain hope they make something as good again.....
From researching the film and hearing the writer/editor and producer in a Q&A afterwards the film takes on a completely different resonance of believability when we learned that the majority of the narrative had been woven from real life events that had taken place in the UK.
All the supporting cast give this film a depth that you wouldn't expect from a low budget independent film with such high production values.This is a gritty, urban and energetic film that grabs you from frame one and drives you through so many twists and turns that you find your emotions rubbed raw one minute then soothed the next.
Incredible raw camera work carousels you through the lives of these delinquent British youth whilst an urban 'great' soundtrack of hip-hop and rap is beautifully underscored by British composer Barnaby Taylor - whose piano and guitar punctuation at key moments helps bring the arc of the main character's story to an emotional high.
The Miami New Times says of the film "21yr old Director Simon Pearce has taken the bildungsroman, held it up against the wall and punched its face in."I had to look the word up as well and it means - BILDUNGSROMAN - A novel whose principal subject is the moral, psychological, and intellectual development of a usually youthful main character.I agree it did punch it in the face.
From the facebook page ( shank cal shank - profile name) for the film it's clear that I'm not alone in my cry of 'bravo' to these innovative and daring film makers - the coming-out genre has been declared dead and buried with this film and SHANK is the new dawn for gay cinema.
I try to get almost everyone I know to watch this because it's definitely one of the better indie films i've seen in a really long time..
SHANK is an important debut film for director Simon Pearce (apparently only 21 years old) and writers Darren Flaxstone and Christian Martin.
The story has the courage to be honest enough to view gang behavior and the cross section of needs that gang membership provides to young lads in search of their true identity: first comes identification through 'belonging' to like lost souls, and second comes the breakthrough of self discovery.
Cal (Wayne Virgo) is the vulnerable lead lad, a member of a Bristol gang led by a rather despicable female Nessa (Alice Payne) who finds pleasure in 'filming' the gang's bashing of victims.
Cal takes on this trait by seeking out victims for release of his same sex energy, using drugs to render his victims cooperative, films his conquests using a cellphone camera, and then beats the victims bloody: an early scene illustrates this behavior with a teacher named Scott (Gary Summers) who while recovering shares the incident with an off screen therapist, gradually unfolding the fact that Scott's partner was abused by this same gang.
While Cal displays this pugilistic behavior in secret, in the presence of his gang his physical attraction to fellow gang member Jonno (Tom Bott, in an impressive film debut) surfaces - an attraction that appears to be reciprocal were it not for the forbidden arena of same sex love.
The gang attacks a young French exchange student Olivier (Marc Lambert), but Cal cannot tolerate the abuse of this obviously innocent gay lad and follows him, offering him a ride home, and eventually merging into accepting his sexual identity with the kindness of Olivier's open heart.
There is a final confrontation between Cal and Olivier and the gang, and Jonno exacts his revenge and devastation in a brutal attack.
Filmed in Bristol, England, UK on a non-existent budget of 20,000 euros (28,000 USD) with a cast made up almost entirely of first-timers to feature film, "Shank" is one of my all time favorites."Shank" is the story of teenaged "scallie" gang banger, Cal (Wayne Virgo), who is realizing his true desire for other men.
In particular, his best friend and fellow gang member Jonno (Tom Bott) with whom he shares several very intimately awkward moments.
However, when the gang jumps an attractive young gay man, Olivier (Marc Laurant), Cal reaches his breaking point stopping the beating.Having left his gang stranded to go and help the bloodied young man, Cal is now the target of their rage.
Directed by 21 year old Simon Pearce, "Shank" is a gritty and unapologetic look at a coming-out story that has never been seen before.
Wayne Virgo is an extremely talented newcomer, who also happens to be a gorgeous young man with great attributes which are seen throughout out the movie."Shank" is violent and unsettling at times, sensual and compassionate at others, and has a well-balanced use of intimacy and nudity.
Making you care for and feel for the characters, "Shank" is a perfect blend of every element that a good movie is made of.With it's gripping script (written by Darren Flaxstone and Christian Martin), beyond-their-years-in-talent acting, and superb direction and cinematography, "Shank" is a low-budget film that can stand against any Hollywood powerhouse...Just letting you know....
Encompassing the fairly major subjects of homosexuality, Chav gangs in 21st century Britain, self love and finding one's place in the world, 'Shank' really packs a hard punch, just about pulling these hefty themes together, all in all a real credit to the sharp script, snappy editing / direction and raw but engaging performances from the exceptionally young Bristol based cast.I found it great to see low budget British film-making still in existence with such energy, passion and verve, which is sadly so lacking in the majority of big budget releases, certainly when it comes to the tricky issue of sexuality, (usually it's the tired old coming of age/ coming out to the parents type of thing, or in the bigger budget releases, Julia Robert's best friend is a good as it gets.) This film takes the sexuality/ coming out / rites of passage story and actually tries to say something about the less than perfect society in which we all live, both good and bad, evident in the the highly charged scenes of sexual violence contrasted with the incredibly tender love scenes.
In fact, it's almost impossible to distinguish the actor's own personalities from the characters they're playing.Unfortnately, the film looses ground in the final "rumble" scene, which is carried on much too long.
There is much to commend this film's fresh take and realisation of a difficult and under discussed issue of youth culture versus gay coming out.
He falls in love with some guy leading to tragedy.Sometimes effective, but the movie don't move more from some erotic scenes and some disgusting , really shocking scenes, that you can't denied are well staged by director Simon Pearce.
And the actors are good, mostly for being so young and handled this kind of material.The problem is that the movie gets in one point totally ridiculous, and boring.
However, when one actor carries such a heavy load as Wayne Virgo did for the part of Cal, then I believe you need to cast for more than just type.
Marc Laurent did a good job as the French student and had a great sense of mise en scene.
While his final scene was a bit much (director is responsible here), I thought he has great potential past this film.Today, thanks to advances in technology, young gay people have a choice of film subjects and styles geared toward their orientation and subculture.
This film is the most gaspingly and brutally real gay-themed film you will ever see.Cal, the central character is completely believable and represents every gay man's dream: a straight-acting hunky punk.
It's clearly stated in the summery and plot synopsis that it's about a lad that after a chance meeting hits off a relationship but not just that this film has such a strong message on the kinds of things young gay couples or teenagers who think they are gay go through when it comes to telling family members and friends.Yes this film is also very graphic in terms of violence, in fact the finale of this film was very graphic, in some ways I wish I could have turned it off but I continued watching for the fact that the story of fear, changes and the intense storyline makes you want to watch it through till the end but trust me when you do finally make it to the end there is one last twist which will leave an impact in different ways on different people.
I think this is a great film and believe it will remain one of my favorites.The plot I will not go into for to do so would totally ruin watching the movie.
Hang in there and you will see a film which will make you think a lot.Since I am an American, it took a little getting use to the UK setting with cars driving on the left, yet it would be easy to have made this movie in the US.
10 scored because some of the reviewers here are being just idiotically mean and vindictive - in my opinion had the writers been given the budget of say Attack the Block or the other SHANK then this would have been even better than it is....possibly some of the comments are coming from the minds of those who mistook it for the other SHANK and weren't expecting a gay hero!It's the 21st Century people - this should have been widely distributed and supported and I say that as a Brit who appreciates British talent..
This really does have a socio/economic/realist vein to it that pulses with an energy that will grab your attention and shock your senses whilst at the same time refreshing you with the delights and the beauty of the first flush of love.Excellent award winning film.
Gang member Cal (Wayne Virgo), a closeted gay, comes to the defense of innocent gay teen Olivier after Cal's gang begins beating him.
Cal is ostracized from his gang, which includes his best friend Jonno.
Some reviewers criticize the acting of the actor playing Olivier, but I found it realistic and believable.
I did have reservations of lowering my rating down to 4/10 stars for Shank, because overall, it wasn't that bad of a movie, for a small, somewhat original independent gay themed movie.How it mostly shot itself in the foot, was, though (again) somewhat original, it was thoroughly predictable, a bit unrealistic and contained the one of the most outrageous, out of left-field finale involving a rape (you'll know what I mean when your mouth is agape as was mine) and plot twists wrapped up that didn't either matter or there was simply no reason to tie up some stories.The movie begins with a small gang of male thugs lead by a female in England beating up just an innocent man out walking for no more reason than their twisted sense of enjoyment all the while filming it on their phones, I'm guessing for either internet or trophies.
The movie shifts focus to one of the gang members, Cal (Virgo) who branches out his gang-free time by picking up a stranger to have some coke and sex with in the woods.
Only, this time, Cal rescues him.Even though I have never has an associations with gangs or thugs, it's fairly obvious to know the aftermaths of him helping this beaten gay student on the road.
I don't think that KKK member would be looked on too kindly by the other racists.So you know where this is going, hence the predictability, as do you know Cal falls, finally, for another male.
Though it doesn't begin that way: as Cal definitely likes Oliver, (Laurent) the gay-bashed citizen, he uses him to hide out from the revenge smitten ex-gang friends of his.
I liked the eye candy, the actors or director had no qualms about showing them naked or in hard-core sexual acts – I hate edits, and the fact this story stemmed from a closeted gang member, something we rarely see, if at all.
I'm going to start by saying that this film is one of the best examples of "deceptive advertising" as it was sold as a "Skins meets Latter Days" and it ended up being a dull story about disrupted teenagers.
You wanna watch a gang-related gay film try "Our Lady of the Assassins" that one does deal with the reality thousands of teenagers in gangs have to deal.Anyways, moving onto the characters none of them make anything good to the film.
So obvious that it makes you thing he was the "closeted gay trying to come out".
Cal (Wayne Virgo) is part of a gang who go out and casually beat up people for no reason.
Then one day his gang attack an innocent French student named Olivier (Marc Laurent).
The text message sent at the end is great; "Sorry -Cal." Which is to say this:"sorry that this all sucks and my boyfriend, who happens to be your student, who happens to have been beaten up by my gang who also beat up your boyfriend in a non-related incident while you and I also just happened to have hooked up randomly online once, after which I bashed you in the face.
But it was the pre-wrap up confrontation scene which took this from the edge of ridiculous to a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me joke of a movie.Jonno, the best friend from his "gang" (pfft, some gang, by the way), RAPES Cal. In front of the rest of the gang, even.
And it is, but only because it's SO OUT OF LEFT FIELD and ridiculously not believable.A lot of this movie, as is the case with much of gay cinema, is used as an excuse to show cute young guys naked.
Considering that most of the actors are young newcomers, the director is 21 years old and created on a very low-budget, this is a really well-done film worth watching.The story is fairly straightforward and not complicated to follow.
While I agree, I still give him credit for doing the sex scenes (he was apparently very nervous) and later in the film his fear and panic seems pretty realistic to me.There are a few minor things I didn't like.
Only after watching the film a few times did I understand why she did it (without spoiling it for you :) 'Shank' was a gritty, different type of gay movie from the norm out there.
The subplot is that in that kind of malfunctioning family/triangle, one member, Cal, is secretly gay and the other male one is repressing his tendency towards his mate; peppered with an obnoxious - yet fragile in the end - female lead who cannot face her dark secret, it all soon comes down to a violent confrontation; add an exchange french student to the mix, a student who is OK with his sexuality and there you have it.
(It is an obviously small budget film, but that is OK, if not to its advantage.) Worth for a look just for the effort of his 21-year old director and the instinctively observed scene at the cemetery..
Some movies, although a great premise, end up terrible due to their budget, so I expected the worst for this film!
Olivier's character did grow on me throughout the film, and in the end I loved the man and thought that him and Cal were very cute together.
Very good acting on his behalf.I was impressed with the film, it did come together rather perfectly, and my emotions fell right in line with where they were supposed to be.
This may have some disturbing but real content, but is definitely the freshest gay themed movie to come around in a few years.
Numerous people responding to the film do not address the issue of gangs in postmodern times.