''Chicken ''is a 2015 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by Joe Stephenson. It is based on the play of the same name by Freddie Machin.

Plot

The film follows Richard, a 15-year-old boy with learning difficulties who lives in a shabby caravan with his older brother, Polly. Life for the siblings is harsh, with the engaging, nature-loving teenager yearning for stability. Richard frequently finds himself on the wrong side of Polly's destructive, often violent moods. Richard finds it easier to communicate with animals – none more so than his beloved hen, Fiona. He forms a strong friendship with rebellious 17-year-old Annabel, whose family have recently acquired the farmland on which the brothers live. A growing conflict with the new landowners will lead to a situation that severely tests Richard's natural optimism, as the world of privilege collides with the brothers' precarious, marginalised existence.

Cast

* Scott Chambers as Richard *

Morgan Watkins Morgan Watkins is a British film, television and stage actor. Life and career Watkins trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating in 2009. Watkins played Norman Pike in the BBC television series ''The Hour'' and Rottweiler in the ...

as Polly *

Yasmin Paige Yasmin Paige (born 1991 or 1992) is an English actress. She played the film role of Jordana Bevan in ''Submarine'', and has appeared on television as Beth Mitchell in ''Pramface'', and Maria Jackson in ''The Sarah Jane Adventures''. Life and ca ...

as Annabell * Kirsty Besterman as Mrs Rickson * Stuart Keil as Mr Rickson * Freddie Machin as Scrap Yard Owner *

Gina Bramhill Gina Bramhill is a British actress. Background Gina Bramhill was born in Eastoft, where she grew up on a farm, and was educated at South Axholme Academy and John Leggott College. As a child, she appeared in several school plays. She was t ...

as Tara * Alf Raines as Pub Landlord * Johnny Vercoutre as Pub Customer * Adrian Bouchet as Bill * Rose Williams as Lil * Ben Mars as Kevin *

Michael Culkin Michael Culkin (born 2 July 1954) is an English theatre, film, and television actor probably best known for his role as Judge Buller in the BBC drama '' Garrow's Law''. He appeared as Rab Butler in the first two seasons of ''The Crown'', in '' ...

as McClint * Danny Steele as Electrician * Alex Murphy as Bloodied Man

Release

''Chicken'' had its

world premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the film ...

on 27 June 2015

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

. The film had its international premiere in competition at the 2015

Busan International Film Festival The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF; ), formerly the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), held annually in Haeundae District, Busan, South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festival, held fro ...

, followed by screenings at the New Hampshire International Film Festival,

Giffoni International Film Festival The Giffoni International Film Festival is an Italian children's film festival which takes place annually in Giffoni Valle Piana, Campania. It began in 1971. The Giffoni International Film Festival typically has around 100,000 guests and has h ...

, Cine A La Vista International Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Schlingel International Film Festival and Dublin International Film Festival. It eventually received a limited theatrical release in the UK on 20 May 2016. It was then acquired by MUBI UK, and had its British TV premiere on

FilmFour Film4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, dedicated to broadcasting films. The standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat ...

April 2017. It received its

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

and

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

release by Network on 18 September 2017.

Reception

Critical reception

''Chicken'' received positive reviews and holds a 100% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

based on 12 critics’ reviews. Leslie Felperin of

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

scored the film at three out of five, and said "first-time director Joe Stephenson elicits lively, empathic performances from his small cast".

Mark Kermode Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...

rated the film at four out of five, describing Scott Chambers's performance as "superb". Anna Smith of

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

magazine gave the film a rating of four out of five, responding that the film is "an enjoyable, involving British Drama with and impressive turn from newcomer Scott Chambers". With a three-star rating from Cath Clarke of Time Out, she commented that ''Chicken'' is "an impressively acted British Drama about a young man with learning difficulties". CineVue praised the film and mentioned that it is "the sort of British indie which restores faith in cinema".

Accolades

* Grand Jury Award for Narrative Feature — Joe Stephenson (New Hampshire Film Festival 2015) * Silver Griffoni Award for Best Film - Generation 18+ (2nd Prize) — Joe Stephenson & B Good Picture Company (Giffoni Film Festival 2016) * Award for Best Film — ''Chicken'' (Cine A La Vista International Film Festival 2016) * Scott Chamber's performance as Richard got a Special Critic's Circle mention (Dublin International Film Festival 2016) * The film was shortlisted for Best Director (Joe Stephenson) and Best Newcomer (Scott Chambers) by the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

References

External links

* * {{Rotten Tomatoes, chicken 2015 films 2015 drama films British drama films British independent films English films Films set in England Films about intellectual disability Films about friendship Films about incest 2010s English-language films 2010s British films English-language drama films 2015 directorial debut films