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Canto (Graham Earley) wants to be a good husband to Leah (Lauren
Larkin) and a good father to their daughter Rachel - but Leah has long
thrown him out of her flat as he has never really tried to get a job and
makes some money as a lowly drugdealer, he's constantly short on money and
presently on the run from some crooks he owes, and he has a bit of a drug
habit himself, let alone major temper issues. He has pretty much inherited
that all from his dad Dan (Paul Roe), who was never a good father to him,
was in and out of prison ever so often and never amounted to much in his
life. It's only now that Dan, mellowed with age, wants to make things
right again and reconcile with Canto - but Canto wants nothing of it.
Interestingly enough then, Dan becomes sort of a father figure for a young
student, Virgil (Tony Doyle), who's living on a barge with his mother
Beatrice (Denise McCormack) - and unfortunately, Beatrice is one of
Canto's best customers ... Now one thing up front, The Black
Guelph isn't a film very likely to lift your spirits, it's a rather
depressing film in story, which is also reflected in the movie's
grey-centric colour scheme. But that, along with the film's stark realism,
is also what makes this a very powerful film. And while the movie uses
many gangster movie tropes, it's really much more of a social drama with a
sharp focus on its mostly damaged characters finding themselves in (mostly
self-imposed) catch-22 situations. And a dynamic directorial effort and a
solid cast giving down-to-earth performances really bring this movie to
life, making it a hard-hitting yet totally worthwhile experience.
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