Albert Finney is superb as the young factory worker in a Northern town who tries to escape from the restricting life on offer to him. Released in 1961 this film was the biggest box office hit of the British New Wave and became a classic example of what became known as the “Kitchen Sink” movement; gritty stories set in the drudgery of the English lower classes.
This film broke many taboos of the day, discussing sex, abortion and alcoholism within a setting of the never-talked about class struggle.
Albert Finney’s breakout role, making him an international star that remains popular to this day.
