The Wee Man (2013) Reviews

• One Sided

  lisapatrick2013-01-20

  Went to see this in the cinema and thought it would be hard hitting and exciting. Had high expectations but was really let down. Firstly, all the woman cast members were terrible. Acting left a lot to be desired and were wooden and frankly annoying. Stand out performance was from the actor who played Arthur Jr (Fat Boy.) Being from Glasgow- the accents were ridiculous- if you come from the South Side of Glasgow you don't talk like you are from Edinburgh. Some of the more violent scenes were quite good. The most annoying thing about this film was the portrayal of Paul Ferris. He was not a hero, he did not stab and scalp people because he was bullied as a child. He was a criminal and a thug. Its as if someone has listened to Paul Ferris' side of the story and not listened to anyone else. The film was mince. Would give this a miss if you are interested in the Glasgow Gangster scene as it does not ring true to what really happened.

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• Ferris wheels within wheels

  Lejink2015-02-20

  As a Glaswegian, I was certainly aware of the real-life main criminal characters in this film without knowing all the ins and outs of who did what to whom, when and why. I largely looked in vain however for actual Glasgow locations, although the notes here tell me that's because the local police refused cooperation, which isn't hard to understand, watching the film. The film itself is a tough, often violent look at turf wars in Glasgow and in particular the rival bosses fighting it out for control and centres on Paul Ferris, a very well known character in these parts. It tells his story using childhood flashbacks to demonstrate the influence of his old-fashioned tough-love father, his friendship with two childhood buddies, whose fates at the end of the film help convince Ferris to go straight at last and of course his introduction to violence amongst both police and thieves which helped lead him on his criminal path. The story itself of a gangster's rise and fall isn't original and doesn't really aim for any great dynamism or originality in the direction either. Its striving for realism is limited by the afore-mentioned substitution for Glasgow by London, the noticeable (but not unwelcome) tempering of the way brutal beatings-up and shootings are depicted, plus the character acting in the cast isn't completely consistent. Martin Compston is slightly restricted in his portrayal of the titular character Paul Ferris by his baby-face demeanour but otherwise carries off a tricky, if clichéd part with plenty of conviction. John Hannah as a scheming would-be kingpin and Denis Lawson as Ferris's father lend experience to their parts and probably stand out accordingly from the rest of the cast. One could argue that the film is skewered too much in favour of Ferris's viewpoint and indeed the criminal lifestyle and modus-operandi altogether with the police and prison officials invariably shown as corrupt, barbaric and above the law they supposedly serve. Nevertheless the story, though hindered by the intrusive insertions of flashbacks to young Paul, in a failed attempt to demonstrate the child being father to the man, has a kinetic energy which keeps you watching until the bitter end. Not an easy watch or even a great watch, but otherwise a good attempt at a contemporary true-crime story.

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• Disjointed, and poor dialogue ruin a good story.

  chuckylewin2015-02-22

  British cinema has not been at its best in recent years. All of our most brilliant story tellers go to Hollywood. The story here is good. Compelling even. The main characters journey from scared boy to prolific gangster is a decent enough. Rather than being a bad story done well, this is a good story done badly. The writing isn't great, although the acting is for the most part decent. The film fails because the narrative is massively disjointed, which is a shame because the production values seem quite high and if a little more care had been taking in 'how' to tell this good story then it would have been a decent film. Watch if you have nothing better to do.

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• thrilling

  westhambill2013-08-15

  Ray Burdis has been an entertaining talent to British audiences since the 1970's others may remember him from spoof cop series 'Operation Good Guys' or even the excellent film 'Love, Honor and obey'; either way he also directs and writes. This is his take on the auto biography of Paul Ferris the notorious gangster from Glasgow. Ferris is played by Martin Compston ('Sweet Sixteen', 'Sister' and 'Strippers vs Werewolves' - cant win em all) and as ever he really delivers. The film takes us back to Ferris' early days and the Glasgow of the 1970's when he was picked on by the Welshes for supporting the wrong team and as a result he claimed he developed debilitating psoriasis (in his book). His father tells him to be a lion and never a lamb and after being pushed too far he becomes just like them. Only a lot more violent. Thus begins his life of crime and violence. He gets sent to a detention centre and after a few more run ins at the age of just nineteen the local heavy Arthur Thompson ( locally called 'The Godfather') takes him on as an 'enforcer' and he takes to it like a duck to water, quite a lot of 'water' to be honest. Thompson is played by Patrick Bergin who always does great character roles and never really gets the recognition he deserves, still I digress. This then takes us on a spiral of violence that ultimately has to get out of control for all concerned. So is it any good? Well it depends on the knowledge of the viewer; as a film it is ruddy good but as a piece of fact based historical drama then there are many who say it about as accurate as that American film that found the enigma machine on a U Boat. The accents go from brilliant Glaswegian to a bit Edinburghish, which I am fine with and at least they are all Scottish. Portraying Ferris as a loving family man who was pushed into a life of crime is also a bit of a stretch, but that is following his book so it was always going to be a bit along the lines of 'I'm not a complete monster' as with the Krays brothers people always said 'they weren't all bad, they loved their mum'., well not much in the outstanding good will department, but it is a start. However I judged this as a film and I thought it was extremely good but not a keeper hence my rating but I wish Ray Burdis all the best in his next venture and it is good to see a film that

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• Total mince

  Blackhill19652013-01-26

  The police in Scotland maintain that Ferris remains involved in serious, organized crime. This is overlooked by the luvvy pals who swallow and peddle his "reformed" gangster patter. Why anyone is interested in this odd little self-publicist bamboozles most right-thinking Glaswegians. Any comparisons to US mafia movies is misguided as this flick stemmed from a work of literary fiction. The blatant and often contradictory lies therein serve to promote his many myths while demonising his equally repugnant rivals. The Advertising Standards Authority ought to do something about the movie poster's "true life and crimes" claim. Putting these moral reasons to one side, the film is utter mince. It would be very interesting to know the actual budget of this "low budget" effort. I would also quibble with the reviews which single out Martin Compston as a sole, redeeming feature. SPOILER - the film Ferris avenging Arthur Thompson's mother-in-law's murder. This took place in 1966 ... when Ferris was aged 3!

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