The Goob

Hard-hitting coming-of-age stories are a genre all of their own in UK cinema (This Is England, Fish Tank, The Selfish Giant), and The Goob is yet another in a long line that has its roots in Ken Loach's 1960s social dramas. Newcomer Liam Walpole stars as the title character, a surly Norfolk teen whose final day at school heralds the beginning of a long and balmy summer. But the Goob's plans to take things easy are short-lived. After inciting the wrath of his mother's psychotic banger-racing lover Gene (a somewhat overwrought Sean Harris), he is put to work on a pumpkin farm, where he shyly sets his sights on immigrant worker Eva (Marama Corlett). Some typical Britfilm flourishes are present and correct - moody shots of the Goob whipping through the long grass, brandishing a stick - but the Norfolk setting, its sincere leads and an affecting score keep things a touch above the usual.