The Violators (15)

Director: Helen Walsh

Starring: Lauren McQueen, Stephen Lord, Brogan Ellis, Callum King Chadwick, Derek Barr

SHELLY just wants to look out for her little brother. Nothing else matters.

She has barely escaped the clutches of her abusive father, she lives in a squalid estate and she has been kicked out of school.

With no money and no prospects, her days are filled roaming the docklands, stealing and starring at coin pushers at the arcade as a means of escape.

But that is ok. As long as Shelly (Lauren McQueen) can keep 11-year-old Jerome (Callum King Chadwick), the only mixed race kid on a white estate, on the straight and narrow she knows she has done some good.

This is the grim world created by author-turned-filmmaker and former Grappenhall resident Helen Walsh.

Like some of the best debut films by directors, it is brave, ambitious, uncompromising and completely draws you in.

But the most startling thing about The Violators is how real it feels.

It is sad but also an inescapable truth that there are many 'Shellys' and 'Jeromes' out there.

That is the powerful backdrop to the story in the vein of other gritty British films like Tyrannosaur, Fish Tank and This Is England.

But what Walsh explores here are the characters that prey upon on those in dire situations, causing more misery and making their situation more hopeless.

Enter estate loan shark Mikey Finnegan, played excellently by Shameless and Penny Dreadful's Stephen Lord.

Shelly has only just turned 15 in the film but predatory Mikey takes a shining to her and orchestrates events to bring the pair closer together when Shelly learns that her imprisoned father has been granted early parole.

Lord draws a fine line between magnetism and intimidation as Mikey, who offers Shelly protection but at great cost.

And as she is drawn closer to Mikey, another teenage girl called Rachel (Brogan Ellis), from the other side of the tracks, comes into her life.

Ordinary Lies' Lauren McQueen is superb as Shelly. Her protective instinct for Callum King Chadwick's Jerome feels both strong and natural.

McQueen portrays a survivor who has to grow up fast and is forced to be suspicious of all those around her but never gives up hope. This is her journey.

Pride's Derek Barr also deserves special mention for his role as Shelly's older brother Andy, who is failing to cope with his lot in life and responsibilities but is essentially good at heart.

The Violators is a powerful meditation on sins of the fathers and innocence lost.

- The Violators is in cinemas from Friday

- Helen Walsh, Lauren McQueen and Stephen Lord will be hosting a Q and A after a screening of the film at Home in Manchester on Friday at 6pm. Visit homemcr.org

RATING: 8/10

DAVID MORGAN