Popular reviews

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  Review by Sarah Genao (just2good) ★★★½

  An authentic addiction story, told from a very interesting perspective. The score sounds VERY early 2000s, and it nearly works? Though unfortubatelt, some of the music use feels out of place, leading to some cheesy emotional scenes. But the emotional scenes that land REALLY land. The film isn’t afraid to get dark, and the two lead performances are incredible - a child actor is surprisingly one of those. Would like to see it again if it gets a bluray release…

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  Review by Mark Cunliffe 🇵🇸 ★★★★

  I came across this largely by chance, and spurred on by Keira Knightley's name in the cast list, few years ago on BBC1. I'm glad I did, because it was a compelling watch about the effects of heroin addiction on families. I may have tuned in for Keira, but the film clearly belonged to 12 year old Harry Eden who is simply mesmerising and utterly convincing as 10 year old Paul, who has to come to terms with his mother's (Molly Parker) addiction.

  I picked this up on DVD last week and am pleased to report the film is just as good on a rewatch. Where Pure really succeeds is in never once resorting to sentimentality, it remains true to…

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  Review by beca ★★★

  Pure is a bleak coming of age story, telling a story of addiction from the perspective of a preteen boy whose father recently died and whose mother has become dependent on heroin. He seeks solace from a young waitress by the name of Louise, but she too is struggling with her own host of problems.

  The narrative plays out a bit like grim Oscar-bait or, perhaps more accurately, like a 90's Lifetime movie with serious subject matter and a message - the key difference between Pure and a Lifetime movie being the former's strong performances. Keira Knightley and Molly Parker are obviously great here, but Harry Eden (playing the child protagonist) carries the film's emotional weight surprisingly well and takes…

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  Review by S ★★★★★

  Harry Eden is astounding as 10 year old Paul struggling to look after himself, his little brother and their heroin addict mum. He befriends waitress Louise, who seems like she might be able to help him through some of it, but ultimately she disappoints him too and he is compelled to do all he can to save his mum from her addiction.
  This story has probably been done a hundred times over but the cast of Pure lift this above most others of a similar theme. Harry Eden gives a very mature and grounded performance, he's so good it makes you wonder why he's done very little since? Even Keira Knightley does a decent job in her small supporting role, but it's Harry Eden's film to carry and he does it so well.

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  Review by Jason Alley🏳️‍🌈🐻 ★★★½

  A bleak, compelling, British coming-of-age story about a little boy named Paul (the astonishing Harry Eden) forced to look after himself and his little brother because of his mother's (Molly Parker) crippling heroin addiction.

  Director Gillies MacKinnon and cinematographer John de Borman capture slum life with vivid intensity and the performances by Parker and a thoroughly de-glamorized Keira Knightley (as a heroin-smoking, pregnant teenager with whom Paul strikes up a curious big-sister/little-brother friendship) are excellent, but it's 12 year-old Harry Eden's picture to carry and he does an exceptional job.

  The score is unfortunately cheesy (sounds more like a Kleenex commercial at times), but the raw power of the story and the performances compensate.

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  Review by ⊹₊⋆liza⊹₊⋆ ★★★

  if marion silver had a son

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  Review by Chris Bakker ★★½

  Probably the best movie in which a 10 year old wants to and is then promptly allowed to smoke heroin? I don't know, pick your contender in the comments. Aside from some truly baffling choices in the score and a predictably shoddy performance from the child it's not awful, it's just very shallow. Keira's early career remains wild.

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  Review by RonnieGardocki ★★★½

  Besides some music choices that should've been made differently, this is an effective melodrama with some surprisingly good kid acting.

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  Review by Galleguillos ★★★

  I really wanted to turn that shit off every time that piano score came in, it wouldn't be that annoying if it didn't played in almost every transition.

  Otherwise I kinda enjoyed this one, it has more similarities with a TV melodrama rather than the gritty drama it clearly wanted to be, but it's elevated by the often stylized filmmaking - even if it was very obnoxious at times - and definitely, the strong performances, specially from young and unknown Harry Eden. He won a British Independent Film Award for "Most Promising Newcomer" because of this movie.

  I half-loved this, there is a lot that doesn't work but also a lot that did for me. Sometimes the film throws at…

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  Review by J. B. Solo ★★★

  Drug use is ok, and can be fun with the right one and the right time. (I said it!)  It’s when it gets out of control or when the user has kids and the user starts to  neglect them — then it’s no bueno. 
  This is very much like those 80/90s after school TV specials. 
  Baby face Knightley — what a career she has had over the last 20 years. 

  📍Child actors --grumble

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  Review by Dmitry_Karpyuk ★★★

  По-британски неприлизанная история пацана с мамой-наркоманкой (Молли Паркер) на фоне узнаваемых для любого русского человека панелек. Понравились все актеры, в том числе и мальчик, и юная Кира Найтли, и даже относительно счастливый конец не выглядит притянутым за уши.

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  Review by Graham ★★★★

  Harrowing tale of substance dependency, family, loss and friendship from the shadows of the West Ham football club in London.

  I wasn't expecting too much from this, but some cracking performances from Molly Parker and a young Keira Knightly and a gritty under-produced feel delivered a truly believable and memorable storyline.

  Loved it.