In the tradition of Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes The Barley) and Andrea Arnold (Red Road), Clio Barnard reinforces the understanding that it is indeed, grim up north. There is nothing hopeful about the lives of two lads Abor (Conner Chapman) and Swifty (Shaun Thomas) who, when suspended from school, fall in with a local scrap merchant (Sean Gilder from TV's Shameless). They're seeking fortune, he's after cheap labour and that would be that if not for the local power plant, a source of free, valuable copper once stolen. Tragedy looms.

Inspired by Oscar Wilde's eponymous fable, The Selfish Giant is not an easy watch. Barnard doesn't shy from the simply awful reality of economic depravation in the welfare belt of Britain's north. It runs deeper of course, with the emotional scarring that permeates everything - the lives of the boys, their families, their schoolmates. No one can escape the relentless anger, resentment and cruelty.

So when Swifty is allowed to care for the merchant's racing horse, it brings some gentle respite into his life (and cash for the merchant if the boy can win a race). Arbor, a cheeky, frenetic lad, is sidelined and pours his energy into work, hatching a plan with devastating consequences. Barnard's unflinching examination of the anguish that flows is the crux of her film and while it may not be easy an easy watch, it is certainly a rewarding one (and not simply for the exceptional performances of Chapman and Thomas). Neither sentimentality nor easy morality have a place here as the real, rather than theoretical, price of capitalism is laid bare.

It is, perhaps, just as well that films like this don't come along often – the emotional demands are great. Yet it has, and The Selfish Giant demands to be seen.

// COLIN FRASER

Previewed at Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park, Sydney on 15 July 2014