Given director Colin Gregg's previous work, on The Trespasser, To the Lighthouse and Remembrance, there was little chance that Lamb would turn out to be a barrel of laughs. Yet, grim though the story is in many ways, there are both a few attractive lighter moments and a true poignancy to this tale of the doomed journey of a young priest and the foul-mouthed yet endearing 10-year-old epileptic boy he rescues from the (slightly improbable) tyranny of a remand home run with callous lack of compassion by his fellow-priests. Although the naiveté of the priest stretches the credulity, persuasive performances by Liam Neeson (his first major impression) as the priest and Hugh O'Conor as the boy win the day. And Dudley Sutton is convincingly repugnant as a clammy pervert with a military manner. The harrowing tale also receives a constant boost from the excellence and clarity of Mike Garfath's noticeably good Eastman Colour photography. Lamb may not cut deep enough to make you cry, but it will make you think.


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