IFWT #54 - Scum(1979)

While his name might not be as readily recalled as the likes of Mike Leigh or Ken Loach, Alan Clarke is an important figure in the cinematic world of social realism, and today we’re taking a deep dive into one of his most acclaimed, and controversial projects: Scum. Banned, censored and excoriated by the uptight establishment at the time and condemned by the patron saint of killjoys, Mary Whitehouse, it’s now rightfully regarded as a cult classic. Carlin, played by a young Ray Winstone, enters a borstal and immediately finds himself at the mercy of an abusive, oppressive regime that seeks to strip each trainee of their individuality and reprogramme them as obedient, rule-following submissives. Will his new overlords grind him down, or will he take the ultimate risk and fight back? Will his fellow inmates join him in his rebellion or will they keep their heads down and do their time in “peace”. It’s time for your friends at In Film We Trust to serve their sentences as we examine one of the most hard-hitting Brit flicks of the 1970s. Oh won’t somebody PLEASE think of the children!