I want to persuade you to watch this movie. I am not going to give an overview of the plot because it is not needed. If you like to stumble on a film where the lead performance is a tour de force, where British talent is showcased and you are intrigued by the Yorkshire backdrop then give this a chance. The story unfolds slowly but it will be etched on your memory.

Fairly routine plot, nicely handled , though with a fair few amateurish touches. All those friends of the participants who have been drafted in to give the film ten stars have their hearts in the right place, but I am not a Yorkshire bloke and, with the best will in the world, I cannot see this very decent film getting more than 7 out of 10 from a competent critic. Methinks that lot doth protest too much!

Possibly the best self-distributed film you'll see and deserving of a wider audience. Dan Hartley wrote and directed this film as a tribute to a real person who guided him in his own life. It's well-written, beautifully shot and directed, and worth a few hours of anyone's time. Sadly, because it is a low budget film with an unknown cast Hartley has never been able to get a full distribution or the backing of major players. The film has a high average rating on IMDB and has one several international awards - you get to see it for free.

Tom is a thirteen year old lad living in a small village in the Yorkshire Dales. Kids here make their own adventures with a vast open playground on their doorstep. It's a pretty normal life for Tom, his older brother and his mam and dad until tragedy strikes and Tom's life becomes a troubled one, understandably - thirteen year old lads aren't equipped to cope with normal life, let alone having big issues thrown at them.

The film has a recurring theme of loss and Tom must feel that everything he loves is taken from him - his dad, his brother, his home, his friends and, at one point, his innocence. And yet he keeps things together unknowingly before finding (and understanding) a bit more abouthis place in th world.

The cast are unknown and (I assume) in most cases amateur actors. Nevertheless there are stirring performance from Bretten Lord as Tom, Molly McGlynn as Lucy and a fantastic display by Nancy Clarkson as Tom's mam.

what endears this film to me most is it's unsentimentality. The acting is heart rending at times but doesn't overly rely on speeches of impact or scenes that are obviously written and rewritten to provide a Hollywood version of Yorkshire, the speech is quite natural. The depiction of the Yorkshire Dales is my most treasured element of the film. The local quarry is the employer of Tom's father and many scenes are shown against disused quarries and heaps of spoil. The houses are terraced workers houses, not centuries old stone cottages, and we see the characters in the ginnels and dirt lanes at the back of these houses. This is what the Dales are like for like for many people who work and live there, and yet it is still stunningly beautiful. It is impossible to make any part of the Pennines ugly I think, even filming below grey skies the desolate treeless moors have a magic quality that captivates and probably scares people unused to the unique landscape. I'm biased, mind - I live further south in the Dark Peak and am wed to moorland and old quarries. This isn't All Creatures Great and Small, Last of the Summer Wine, Wuthering Heights or Heartbeat - this is almost real life.