TwentyFourSeven

Nottingham. There is nothing for the young men of the town to do; they stand around in the street, form gangs, go at each other. Alan Darcy is middle-aged and lives alone. He was in the same place himself once, and a boxing gym was what got him out. Now he decides to reopen the old gym. He raises money, gathers the boys, puts rival estates into the same ring, and for a while it works. Then something happens, and Darcy's own anger comes out. Shane Meadows directs the British film; ninety-six minutes, with Bob Hoskins as Darcy. It is Meadows's first feature, written with Paul Fraser. It was shot in black and white and shown at Venice in 1997. What it tells is not a story of salvation but of a man who cannot save himself while trying to save others.