The Selfish Giant

2013 1h 31m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 253

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A hyperactive boy and his best friend, a slow-witted youth with an affinity for horses, start collecting scrap metal for a shady dealer.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Conner Chapman
Arbor
Shaun Thomas
Swifty
Sean Gilder
Kitten
Lorraine Ashbourne
Mary
Ian Burfield
Mick Brazil
Steve Evets
Price Drop Swift
Siobhan Finneran
Mrs. Swift
Ralph Ineson
Johnny Jones

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Clio Barnard
Writers: Clio Barnard
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 6

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Clio Barnard, shot by Mike Eley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Harry Escott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 6

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nick Fenton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 6

CAST

Did you know

Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas and Sean Gilder carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 6

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2304426 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Clio Barnard directs. Mike Eley behind the camera. Harry Escott scores. Nick Fenton cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 13 years ago.
2Directed by Clio Barnard, shot by Mike Eley. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Harry Escott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Nick Fenton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Conner Chapman and Shaun Thomas and Sean Gilder carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt2304426 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Classified under 8 themes, including "friendship", "horse", "attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd)", "yorkshire".

The technical file

Cinematography: Mike Eley
Original score: Harry Escott
Editing: Nick Fenton
Production design: Helen Scott
Costume design: Matthew Price
Sound: Forbes Noonan
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $12,189
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Selfish Giant (2013)

Also by

Clio Barnard

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Community reviews

What people are saying

r96sk2020-07-09
★ 7/10
Very much enjoyed this, from a film point of view of course given the dark and saddening tone of the story. <em>'The Selfish Giant'</em> is a gritty drama involving two kids who get mixed up in the wrong world. At the beginning I was worried it was going to turn into a cliché-filled, overly stereotypical tale of less well-off families. It does in small doses, but feels legitimate for the majority. Cast-wise it isn't amazing, though it's impossible not to give praise to youngsters Conner Chapman (Arbor) and Shaun Thomas (Swiftly) as they give very respectable performances, especially when taking into account the tricky nature of role and premise. Sean Gilder is good as Kitten, while some of the others are solid enough. It's both impactful and heartbreaking, especially across the third act. Recommended viewing.
griggs792025-03-28
★ 6/10
The Selfish Giant is an interesting watch—gritty, heartfelt, and beautifully shot, with powerful performances from its young leads. There’s a rawness to it that feels authentic, and the friendship at its centre is touching in that bruised, kitchen-sink way. But as much as I wanted to be moved, something about it felt a bit… manipulative. Like it knew exactly how to push the poverty-porn buttons. It lingers on the hardship in a way that sometimes feels more exploitative than empathetic. I admired the craft, but I left it feeling more wrung out than enriched. Worth seeing, but not life-changing.
CinemaSerf2025-06-12
★ 7/10
“Arbor” (Conner Chapman) is a bit of a tearaway who’s on medication that his elder brother frequently sells and hates going to school. His best mate is “Swifty” (Shaun Thomas) - a gentle giant of a boy, and the two are inseparable. When a brawl at school sees the former excluded permanently and his pal for a fortnight, they decide to turn their heads to scrap collection. A perilous business where much of what they are collecting is still connected to the live electricity supply, but there’s money to be made from unscrupulous merchant “Kitten” (Sam Gelder) and once they’ve a few quid in their pockets, then they just want more. These lads aren’t frivolous kids, they want to use their newfound cash to help their mothers stave off the debt collectors but that’s a never-ending cycle that causes them to take greater risks and get deeper embroiled in a business that is ruthless and uncaring. “Swifty” also has a penchant for horses, and when “Kitten” needs a racing driver for his cart horse “Diesel” this young lad proves to be a natural, but with his friend becoming jealous of his new affections and increasingly more reckless the friend’s relationship starts to become strained. Auteur Clio Bernard has created something gritty and revealing here and the two lads deliver really strongly, especially Chapman, as their travails tell us a story of want, enterprise and even a bit of greed. It’s also quite a potently photographed look at a dangerous, even brutal, sub-culture that thrives in plain sight but that is almost Dickensian in nature to watch unfold.