Film review: The Selfish Giant (15, 91 min)

Loosely inspired by Oscar Wilde’s story of the same name, The Selfish Giant is a breathtaking character study set in an impoverished community in Yorkshire.

Arbor (Conner Chapman) and his best mate Swifty (Shaun Thomas) struggle to fit in at school and they frequently suffer the unwanted attentions of class bullies.

While Swifty is sweet and sensitive, Arbor is cocksure and hot-headed, and during one encounter in the playground, Arbor loses his temper, leading to both boys being expelled from school.

Prospects are bleak so the lads align themselves with local scrap dealer Kitten (Sean Gilder) and his wife (Lorraine Ashbourne), who pay good money for copper wire and any other metal the pair can get their grubby mitts on.

Kitten rents his horse and cart to the boys to collect scrap and Swifty shows nature flair with the animal that puts Arbor in his shadow for the first time and sparks jealousy with shocking consequences.