Urchin

Mike (Frank Dillane, "Harvest") lives on the streets, panhandling for his daily needs, but when a stranger, Simon (Okezie Morro, "Red Tails"), offers to take him for something to eat, Mike assaults the man and steals his watch, a crime that lands him in prison. Upon his release, he's given a second chance, social worker Nadia (Buckso Dhillon-Woolley) arranging living quarters, a restaurant owner hiring him as a chef, but Mike begins to flounder and with no safety net to catch him, appears destined to be an "Urchin."

Laura's Review: B

Mike (Frank Dillane, "Harvest") lives on the streets, panhandling for his daily needs, but when a stranger, Simon (Okezie Morro, "Red Tails"), offers to take him for something to eat, Mike assaults the man and steals his watch, a crime that lands him in prison. Upon his release, he's given a second chance, social worker Nadia (Buckso Dhillon-Woolley) arranging living quarters, a restaurant owner hiring him as a chef, but Mike begins to flounder and with no safety net to catch him, appears destined to be an "Urchin."

After a series of short films, writer/director Harris Dickinson makes his feature debut that is at once a character study and an exploration of how society fails people who need help. The actor known from such films as "Triangle of Sadness" and "Babygirl" helps the homeless in London and has worked the jobs his protagonist goes through during the course of the film. Dillane, who won Best Actor in this year's Cannes Un Certain Regard section, exhibits Mike's potential even when he is struggling, a volatile mix of charm and aggressive outbursts spurred by frustration.

Social services are depicted as well meaning, if sometimes clueless, epitomized by Nadia, who rolls around on her chair attending to her lunch in the microwave as she advises Mike on his parole requirements. On the way to his hostel, the City View Lodge, he stops at a charity shop, buying a nice striped sweater and snazzy snakeskin loafers. In his private room, Mike listens to meditation tapes, clearly wanting to turn things around, but he begins to flounder at the 'hidden gem' London hotel restaurant where he's working. When confronted by a patron claiming his steak wasn't cooked to his specification, Mike is childlike (and unintentionally funny) in his inability to conceive of the validity of the complaint when the man has almost finished his meal ('You've eaten most of it!'). When another social worker, Scott (Michael Colgan), arranges for Mike to meet with Simon, it is difficult to discern whether Mike's manipulating the situation or being genuinely open, Dillane's performance suggesting both wily intelligence and a dormant decency, the latter challenged by his need to survive. (When the meeting does happen and Simon describes the impact of Mike's attack on his life, the man appears genuinely remorseful.)

Mike will float from one situation to the next, following up the loss of one job when he vented his frustrations physically on a coworker, by calling a former boss to get another, this time picking trash. Two City View Lodge women will coax him into a night of karaoke singing Atomic Kitten's 'You Can Make Me Whole Again,' and Mike will exhibit his soft side answering 'What's your type?' with 'Someone who's there for the right reasons.' But it is another trash picker, Andrea (Megan Northam) who will intrigue him with her lifestyle, moving about with a well stocked caravan. But when her partying friends offer him drugs, he cannot resist, and so begins another downward spiral as Andrea won't take him on and time allotted at City View is about to run out. We'll leave Mike as we found him, crumpled over on a city street.

Dickinson, who plays a small role of one of Mike's acquaintances within the homeless community whose fortunes go up as Mike's flatline, establishes his London homeless community, then widens his scope for Mike's adventures, ranging from a private karaoke room to charity shops, city parks and sandy beaches. He uses macro cinematography (Josée Deshaies, "The Beast") of flowers as well as bits of magical realism, Deshalies' camera emerging from within the roots of a tree or floating through a stone tunnel for reasons not quite clear until his final shot. Dickenson's is a solid debut, exhibiting a compassionate voice. Dillane's Mike, with his corolla of unbrushed hair that rests on his head like a cloud, is a man worth saving who keeps getting lost.

Robin's Review: B

Mike (Frank Dillane) is the substance-abusing slacker who manages to just get by – barely. A violent, petty crime lands him in jail and he realizes that he has to get his life back in order. But, is that possible for the “Urchin”?

Actor Harris Dickinson makes his directorial and writing debut with his story of one homeless man eking out a life, of sorts, on the streets of London. Mike, as we soon find out, can be a reprehensible character always trying to find the easy way out. (This, by the way, is his problem – there is no easy way out.)

Dickinson’s camera follows Mike through his day to day routines, like finding a dry place to sleep at night. It is when he accuses Nathan (Harris Dickenson) of robbing him that things get worse. A kind stranger, Simon (Okezie Morrow), tries to help him out only to get mugged and robbed by Mike. He is not aware, though, that his crime was recorded on CCTV and he is arrested. He has to do time for the crime plus have a face-to-face with victim Simon.

Frank Dillane grabs his character, Mike, and runs with it. His behavior is a real turn off as he always tries to play people. But, as we watch, it is apparent that we are dealing with a substance abuser who will do what he can to support his addiction – including harming another. Mike, whether because of his life or because of himself, makes bad judgment. I questioned his mental state.

I am not sure is this is an honest depiction of homeless street life in London. As the camera dollies and pans the gathering places for the homeless, like parks and shelters, we get the sense of a community. It is one made up of dysfunctional people but is a community nonetheless.
Dickenson uses imagery, like caves and caverns and psychedelic lights, to a point that is not clear. I give it a first-timer’s enthusiasm to put every thought and idea up on the screen. Hopefully, if he continues to helm and write films, he will learn that is not necessary. Less can be more, in this case.

Frank Dillane is an unlikely star as Mike and he holds the screen, like him or not, for the entire length of “Urchin.” He and his first-time director done good.

1-2 Special releases "Urchin" in theaters on 10/10/25.