Here's a film with heart that ought perhaps to be better than it is. 'Compulsive social worker' Alan Darcy (Bob Hoskins) takes a dozen layabouts from a Midlands council estate under his wing and channels their latent aggression into a boxing club. Hoskins is well in character - and accent - but some of the other acting is a bit rough and ready, although there's another good performance by Bruce Jones as one of the kids' permanently alcholic pig of a father. It's a shame that events of the ensuing boxing tournament with another club aren't terribly convincing, although the writer obviously needed some kind of climax, be it happy or tragic. And the black-and-white photography is so dark you sometimes can't see the actors' faces. A lot of the incidental dialogue, though, rings true, giving the film the air of an authentic, if slight slice of working-class life.

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