‘Urchin’: Harris Dickinson’s Directorial Debut Is A Mature Cinematic Work

Hot-ticket actor Harris Dickinson dives right into the world of filmmaking with Urchin, a genuinely great directorial debut focusing on a troubled young man trying to do better in London. Anchored by a sensational lead performance by Frank Dillane and strong visual identity, Dickinson’s film shows real potential for the performer to become an even more interesting director.

Urchin tells the tale of Mike (Dillane), a homeless young man struggling to survive on the streets of London. After going to prison for attacking a man and pawning his watch, he’s set up with a support officer and given a job. For a moment, things are looking up for Mike – but as he spirals back into drug and alcohol usage, he struggles to function as he’s expected to.

Both written and directed by The Iron Claw and Babygirl star Harris Dickinson, Urchin is a remarkably mature work to come from a young first-time filmmaker. Mike’s character is tragic in a frighteningly common way, the story of a man on society’s outskirts unable to receive the help that he needs to get back on track.

Dickinson’s script shows how people like Mike can fall out of grace with the society around them, and how systems in countries like the UK are simply not equipped to properly assist troubled people in reforming. It’s not even that Mike isn’t willing to try: rather, it feels like the people around him are seemingly incapable of picking up on the fact that he needs substantially more help than what he’s getting to avoid spiralling back into his old ways.

Urchin is anchored by Frank Dillane’s sensational performance

It helps that he’s portrayed remarkably by Frank Dillane, who encapsulates the nuances of Mike in a genuinely considered, realistic manner. In a lot of ways, he’s a difficult character to spend a film with, considering he’s self-destructive, brash and often blunt to a fault. Yet those flaws (and there are many) make him feel so authentically human, and like you want to see him break free of the cycles he believes defines him.

Alas, the people and systems around Mike don’t necessarily share that interest. Dickinson shows us the cold reality of “redemption” for people like Mike in Urchin: that it’s contingent on their ability to perform in systems that have already failed them. As his stress continuously mounts, Dickinson directs the film with a careful eye for realism without being afraid to dip into the surreal for maximum effect.

It all makes Urchin a highly impactful experience that thoroughly explores the psyche of a troubled man earnestly trying to be better. A great film in its own right, it makes the case for Harris Dickinson as a talented writer/director to keep an eye on in the years to come, given the calibre of filmmaking skill that he’s already displaying.

★★★★

Urchin is in theatres on December 26th.