Little Criminals (1996 TV Movie) User Reviews (23)

Depressing but thought-provoking

[cosmic_quest · 9/10 · 30 December 2005]

'Little Criminals' has to be one of the most depressing films I've ever seen; more so when I consider that, in reality, there must be thousands of children out there condemned to lives of crime and misery as a result of their home situations.

The film revolves primarily around two eleven-year-olds boys named Cory and Des whose extra-curricular activities involve robbery, violence, vandalism, smoking and drugs. On the whole, Cory is a decent child who is just acts out because he feels displaced his step-father and half-siblings. He is sucked into the world of juvenile crime in the hopes of feeling 'cool' but realises the full ramifications of his actions when things go too far and, luckily, he has a family to protect him. Des is another story. It would be too easy to hate him from the onset because he behaves like a vile little monster but only through watching the film do we see a different side to him. He's a neglected, miserable child who has never had one happy moment in his short life. And, deep down, there is a part of him that is still very childlike and desperate for someone to reach out and redeem him. He's a boy who could have lead a well-adjusted, productive life had he been raised by loving parents who actually cared about, guided and disciplined their son.

The quality of the child actors was just excellent. Myles Ferguson, who tragically died just five years after appearing in this film, was able to portray Cory's descent into crime in a way that makes the audience identify how easily a child can be led astray. But it is Brendan Fletcher who steals the show. He depicts Des' hard edge and dark emotions while retaining a sense of vulnerability and childish desperation in the character. He leaves you feeling a conflict between condemning Des as irredeemable and wanting to help this child climb to a better future.

There is no happy ending in this film but it does leave you pondering many thoughts long after the credits have gone by. Perhaps if Canada had a lower age of criminal responsibility, Des and his friends could have been arrested earlier and given the therapy they needed. While I do believe some child criminals deserve to be locked up for a good few decades because they have gone just too far for justice to take second place to rehabilitation (the two ten-year-old British boys who tortured, abused and murdered two-year-old James Bulger fall into this category), reflecting on Des' situation leaves me realising that juvenile detention is not the best solution for all children who commit crimes. Some can be saved if intervention is given early enough.

It's just sad that even in the twenty-first century many of those children who can be save fall still through the cracks of and go on to meet the fate of becoming adult criminals or, worse, premature death.

If a million awful TV movies are made so this one can exist, it is worth it.

[alexcampion · 9/10 · 10 May 2006]

Like many others I suspect, I was flipping channels when I caught 'Little Criminals' just a few minutes into it. I am not one to be mesmerised by idle amusements. If I am to be moved, I need to be unwittingly skewered by the art in question. And I don't hesitate to call this art. At the centre of the remarkable heft of this movie is the thing that initially grabbed me by my slacks from the start: the weight of the central child's performance. It's an astounding one. Fifteen seconds of it prevented me from absent mindedly flipping on. It's one of the most memorable performances I have ever seen, and the fact that it is a child delivering it soon leaves one's awareness as can only happen when watching the most truthful of actors.

It's the story of a child being raised in a rough neighbourhood without anyone to turn to for support or solidity, least of all his own mother. Initially the fact that such a menacing figure can come in the shape of an eleven year old catches off guard, but the performance is way more than the immature posturings of a brattish child actor. This one has real depth. As you delve deeper into his circumstances, you watch a broad palette paint a character with real pathos. His gang of lawless friends simply facilitate his escape from the inner demons he attempts to elude, but which he returns to as we all must, both within his soul and symbolically drawn on the wall of his little ritualistically kept hide-away. And as his life begins to spiral ever downwards, one attempts to blame many groups for such tragedy, parents, teachers, social services - but in the end, one knows that sometimes this is just the way life goes, that there are always those who get lost between the cracks.

The supporting cast do the main performance of the 'Des' character justice too, and there's an uncredited cameo by a pre-hype Sandra O which leaves me feeling that of all the low budget flicks struggling actors are forced to remember with irritation, for Sandra this is not one of them. It's sensitively directed and the soundtrack is an edgy alternative lineup with Portishead and Radiohead among others, echoing the troubled vibrations of the lost souls it accompanies.

See this film, it's like a beautiful album song that those who don't look very hard miss, and those who find add to their artistic shrine to themselves.

Was this film really made by CBC?

[credmond · 9/10 · 21 November 2003]

This movie came out a while ago, and I'm pretty sure it was made by the CBC. I only saw pieces of it then, but the images stuck in my memory for years until I saw it again on Showcase.

Really gritty movie that I'm glad has received an audience outside of just Canada. The kid's performance is mesmerizing and I enjoyed how a sympathetic angle was available, but not pushed. The ending to me was sad, despite how terrible the boy was, and is one of the images that sticks in my mind the most.

Anyone who feels that the younger generation is going to ruin the future, don't watch this film!! Like the "Thirteen," or "Kids," it's disturbing to watch people so young result to such drastic measures in life to feel accepted.

Superbly directed exceptionally acted.

[evamat · 10/10 · 20 March 2001]

This is a superbly directed and exceptionally well acted film. Though the subject matter is dark, it is tense, emotionally affecting and thought provoking. Child crime has never been dealt with in such a realistic manner outside of moralistic documentaries. This is an unblinking depiction of two boys denied what we might consider any vestige of childhood

What can I say ? Great Flick !!!!

[Aridriel · 10/10 · 12 February 1999]

I've tried to get hold of this film for some time now, but it seems impossible. A shame really..anyway: I would like to comment on this film simply because I have the opportunity to tell the world how I felt during the credits: Great !!! If you think that KIDS is a really good movie, try to get hold of this one, it's even better !! --P.S. I particularly like the drawings in the closet, they're excellent....

poignant, realistic, gruesome, tragic - a masterpiece

[peter-334 · 10/10 · 4 March 2002]

One of the most memorable film experiences I have ever witnessed. Myles Ferguson makes a promising debut.

The real star though, is eleven year old Brendan Fletcher who gives an unbelievable performance for one so young. I have worked with children like Des, and I cannot believe how accurately Fletcher portrays Des.

This one surely deserves a far wider audience and a global DVD release.

Still stuck in my mind!

[beckydi · 10/10 · 30 July 2002]

I watched this movie years ago on channel four and it is still stuck in my brain. I'd love to see it again to see if it is as good as my memory tells me, I had it on tape and accidentally taped over it - I was gutted! I loved this film because it didn't shy away from it's theme and the actors were brilliant, especially Des. I loved the way that children were actually treated as interesting and detailed characters rather than sickly sweet cherubs. And lets not forget the kick ass soundtrack, it really helped to create the intense atmosphere. I remember being shocked, enthralled, disgusted, sad, excited, amazed, fascinated... This film had all the right ingredients to make it stand out in my mind both when I first watched it and still now.

A remarkable film that you will wish you had seen sooner

[markuskj007 · 10/10 · 4 September 2002]

One evening, late Autumn 96 I sat back and causally channel surfed, I ended up on channel 4 (UK) where I was about to witness one of the best films of all time.

From our first introduction to Des, perfectly framed through the windshield shadowed by the angry tones for Violet I knew that this film was going to be something different from the usual TV movies.

The concept of someone hitting the downward spiral is oft covered by small and big budget alike, but to convey it from the eyes of a child, however dangerous on the outside, a sensitive messed up inner beauty is portrayed, a victim of his surroundings without the adult understanding to make sense of it all. Suddenly you realise that this kid who seems to be popular, connected and tough is far from it and is merely fitting the mould society has carved for him and when the pillars of his self, the shreds of normality that his world clings to are torn away he realises that the voices were right, he is alone, he is not special, and his time has run out.

We have see a roller coaster of emotions, with him reverting from adult to child but in the final scene, as the flames lick around him, distorting his treasured drawings, burning his forgotten sanctuary: we realise that there could be no other ending for him, or for the film - the trip hop pining of Portishead Roads that has haunted us throughout the film, reaches crescendo to add the final brevity.

The raw quality of this film and the depth of message is usually out of reach in a TV movie, but not his gem.

Watch it, remember it.

Brilliant and horrifying

[bert-58 · 10/10 · 13 August 2000]

This film considers people, most especially children, living at or beyond the margins of society. It is a worthy companion to Bunuel's "Los Olvidados". The central character, Des, is an 11 year old boy, the leader of a group of delinquents. From the outset, he is loathsome and (seemingly) without any redeeming value. The viewer's reaction to this character is disturbing; how can you hate an 11 year old. The story follows Des through one vicious episode after another. Slowly, ever so subtly, the little boy inside the monster is revealed, and circumstances which have created the monster examined.

The young man who plays Des is brilliant. It is impossible to look away from him, however horrific or painful his behavior. The supporting performances are also fine, especially the step father and social worker characters.

The screenplay is masterful; there is a rythm of explosive violence and anger mixed with small subtle hints of humanity that ultimately leaves the viewer moved in different, conflicting directions simultaneously. Ultimately, no pat answers are provided.

This is a disturbing movie. It should be seen.

Far too moronic.

[fedor8 · 21 January 2007]

Oh, how I laughed during those first couple of scenes. This silly little film about an 11 year-old who carries a gun, steals cars, robs stores, burglars houses, extorts money from other kids, burns houses, shoots rats, buys drugs, distributes drugs to his mother and his friends, and then kills a guy. What a great comedy! But it wasn't intended to be a comedy. It was intended as a social drama. How can this be? The events in this film are absurd and ridiculous. The characters are all stereotypes right out of a 4 year-old's comic-strip-induced immature imagination. The dialog is laughable; people talk like morons. It's a very dumb film.

The first scenes are indeed very funny, for all the wrong reasons. But the unintentional hilarity of the idiotic premise runs out after a short while, and after that the laughs come only rarely; by that time the viewer can't believe what he is seeing and is alternately amazed and bored by what follows (if he has at least half a brain cell).

A short film, but feels like an eternity. The film actually IS a seriously-intended attempt to show the world of a young degenerate, while imitating movies vastly superior to it, like "Fun". There is just such an air of phoniness about everything; the kids, the adults, everyone lacks credibility both in their actions and dialog. The kid in the lead mugs his way through the film as though he had seen all the Jimmy Cagney movies at least a hundred times. And, typically enough, the kid isn't portrayed as a reservoir of evil, but, instead, as a misunderstood little artistic talent. But of course. Every young hooligan is misunderstood - society made him bad. Poor child.

The film is embarrassing; a collection of stale, occasionally hilarious clichés put together to make a movie that lacks intelligence and meaning. The intellectual level of the film is zero.

UNWATCHABLY stupid.

[Pizzaowner · 2/10 · 31 July 2020]

Spoiler alert.....we're expected to believe, within the first 5 minutes of the 'movie' that a 10 year old can out-run a BMW...then elude it in a parking garage for 5 minutes and miraculously appear in front of it with 4 of his friends ALL equipped with 4 foot fluorescent bulbs which 'frighten' the car driver ( even though he's stopped at the time ) that he smashes his car into a concrete pillar. If this is what you are entertained by then have at it...this will be the perfect movie for you, but TRULY 10 minutes was plenty for me.

Rarely do i find a film so moving!

[alpha0102 · 10/10 · 13 May 2006]

Rarely do I find a film so moving!

This film had me in tears towards the end and I have had a life that began a bit like Des's so social dramas' etc don't really affect me as though it might some people who have lived privileged or comfortable lives because i analyse but don't often become emotional through watching a film like i did with this excellent creation from Stephen Surjik and its' writer Dennis Foon and i will be trying to contact them to tell them myself (Never felt like doing that before!).

I live in the UK and so my childhood didn't involve firearms, well not until I was 17 because they are quite rightly a lot harder to come by than in Canada, even then I discarded the pistol I brought after threatening somebody for running over a dog and would never own one again, I am now 39.

This film had so many other parallels though that it was almost traumatic to watch and see how it mirrored myself, it was definitely painful at times as my stomach felt like somebody had just kicked me in it. Because of that I would have to say that it is one of the most powerful films I have ever seen, period.

The ending is tragic because of the way he isolated his self from the only person he felt he could trust will leave many who can identify with the film, numb. It did me.

The character as myself was talented and probably very intelligent, I myself have an I.Q. of 142 but for years as a kid officials thought I was a retard and a write off because of the suffering in the familial environ and the fact I had disengaged and this comes through in the film when all the Police want to do is lock the little guy up but like all young kids, really needed to be understood not treated as though a criminal, as does the lack of permanence when he began to trust somebody when taken into care and although the film doesn't get into his future (I don't want to give too much away.) I know that is what it is like when one is moved through the care system and forming a bond in an environ where nobody actually cares that much at all as they are philanthropist, yes, but only doing a job at the end of the day, that betrayal and lack of permanent bonding with adults stays with you as a deep footprint. It is something that affected this lad, Des, profoundly when he wanted to stay where he had bonded with an adult he felt he could trust.

I highly recommend this film to anybody interested in socio-dynamics, especially because although set in Canada I can say the dynamics are universal because of the way it mirrored my own.

The guys who made this film did a really good job in hitting home subtleties in a powerful way.

To answer the previous review. Remember it? I shall find it hard to forget because in a way I lived it, even looked a bit like Des when i was a kid!!!

Sincerely.

Paul. AKA DELTAPAN

Deeply disturbing, but excellent movie

[spewey · 10/10 · 30 April 2001]

When Little Criminals was first televised in my area in January of 1996, I taped it....and to this day I still have the tape, and have watched it a number of times. This is an incredibly engrossing movie, with terrific acting by all involved, especially Brendan Fletcher and the late Myles Ferguson (RIP). Fletcher plays Des, an eleven-year-old boy who is already a career criminal. He smokes, does drugs, sets fires, mugs people, steals everything from cartons of cigarettes to guns and automobiles, and (although we don't actually see evidence of it) claims he is sexually active. He lives in an old, dilapidated, roach-ridden house with his neglectful mother. His friend and partner-in-crime is Cory (Ferguson), a basically decent kid who is going through a rather vigorous adolescent rebellion due to his ambivalence towards his new stepfather, stepsister and baby half-brother.

He falls in with Des for awhile, but eventually wises up, near the end of the movie. When Des is finally taken away from his mother, he gets sent to an assessment centre for troubled children. At this point, we get to see what makes Des tick, and it looks as though Des might turn his life around. A happy ending? Sadly, no. This movie has a very downbeat, depressing conclusion, which actually serves to make the movie even more powerful and poignant. A must-see.

A film that proves that kids can act!

[original_dan_uk · 10/10 · 13 February 2002]

A film that proves that kids can act!

When i first saw this film I was about 15-16 and loved it then cause of the kids who didnt care about what they were doing. They were free.

Now that I am older I can see the film in a different light, seeing that the system that failed the main character (Des) and he was a product of his environment.

The music in this film is great, it sets the feel for the scenes they were chosen for.

If you have time see this film, its well worth it! (or if you dont have time, make time)

brilliant

[sandy-311 · 10/10 · 30 June 2006]

i read someone's review on this film and i agree it is brill in fact this is my favourite film of all time i have watched it about 10 times over the past few months its really gripping the way Des and Cory goon together the only thing i can never seem to get is why does Des try to kill Cory at the end because that was his best mate and he shared stuff with him that he never with the rest of the gang anyway if u have not seen this for ages and you live in the UK well your in look it is on the true movie channel a lot channel 323 or sometimes 324 witch is true moves 2 on sky they are free channels so Ur in look there the next time it is on for all interested is 12:05 midnight on channel 323 on Sunday have a look at your sky planner if u with to confirm this can anyone email me and let me know why es treys to kill Cory when he is pointing th gun i know Cory gets away but i still cant get that part thanks a lot

At Last I found the title to this great film

[graemeh · 10/10 · 26 September 2000]

I saw this some years ago on TV late at night and somehow managed to miss or forget the title. Now I can't remember a huge amount about the plot but suffice to say I've spent at least 3 years searching for it so I can try and buy it - all I had to go on was it was Canadian, sometime in the 90s and featured a song by Hole in it. Eventually found it through the IMDb search - after turning up almost 1000 possibles. If that length of time looking for a movie isn't a recommendation from me to see this film I don't know what is!! Now does anyone know where I can buy this!?

awesome flick for Canadian film

[taarak2 · 9/10 · 13 October 2006]

I saw this movie on the CBC when I was 7 and I've never forgot about it I still have a copy that i taped in 1995, i have very rarely seen a Canadian film since that was as good as this one. I was a bad ass as a kid and this movie gave me great ideas on what i could an couldn't get away with it left a lasting impression on me and id recommend it to anyone. this is a definite family flick that every kid should watch to help them decide f crime is the life for them. kids will be kids and no movie displays that more than this one

if you ever have the chance to view this film drop whatever your doing and tune in you'll never regret it

Conflicting opinions in my head

[steelsniper · 8/10 · 2 November 2003]

This movie is funny. But not in a comedy way. Its quirky. The story about humans is excellent, well written.

However, i hated Des SO much in the movie that i was very happy when he died. I knew that we were supposed to feel bad for the kid, but i didnt. Anytime i saw the kid on the screen i felt like kicking the crap out of him. I guess that means he did a good job acting.

I never will understand why kids would break into someone's house just to trash it and steal their stuff. If i saw some real kids like that doing anything that these kids in the movie did, i'd beat them up and throw them into the harbor for dead. That's one thing i wish i saw in the movie - the kids not being loved, but hated and injured.

But of course, thats what the writer and director wanted you to feel. so, 7/10.

Down in flames...

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 10/10 · 16 August 2014]

I was always greatly impressed with this film, mostly by its effectively gritty, city streets style which is very well executed and helps convey the overall tone of the story. It's well shot and edited, very compact and extremely well put together, in terms of both the crafting of the plot, and in economy of the direction of the acting, which is honest and riveting. And considering that it's the first movie for several members of the cast, the acting is really good, the characters are believable and it helps to give the story a very true to life feel. This can be a tough movie to watch and it claws at the heart in many ways. It's got rough elements, but that really suits the rough aspect of the story and the kind of life that the kids are going through and they're sympathetic, but the movie doesn't excuse any of their bad behaviour. It's realistic and it's not sanitised, nor overdone. It has a very brooding and sombre atmosphere that grows more grim and intense as it builds up to the unbelievable ending. Apparently the reason this drama has never been distributed on DVD or VHS is because of copyright issues with the soundtrack, which is a damn shame, as this is absolutely one of the very greatest television movies ever made..Period! ::: Brendan Fletcher was simply phenomenal in his debut role. I'm a big fan of his because of his performance in this, and it's always been great to see him in all kinds of stuff as he's gotten older. It may not seem so at first, but it's entirely his character's movie and not the late Miles Ferguson's. Unlike "Cory", who's only really half-heartedly acting out and has a supportive family to fall back on, "Des" is the one that truly needs saving. And that's what makes the character's journey and ultimate fate all the more tragic, because you get that although this no-good punk kid is doing some pretty terrible things and is very damaged, beneath all the aggression and attitude he's still just a hurting little kid who still has a heart and hasn't yet completely lost his innocence, and one who is at a very delicate point where he could potentially go either way depending on the circumstances. That just a tiny bit of love and dedication from just the right kind of person might yet break through and turn him around, or it may all go horribly wrong and his young life could spiral into destruction, and that's exactly what he does... And it all comes to a satisfying, if startlingly morbid and devastating conclusion as Des finally snaps completely and is apparently past the point of no return after shooting the lowlife drug-pusher and then even threatening his only remaining friend. And then, perhaps out of the realisation that he's utterly alone and the belief that he has nowhere left to go and nothing to live for, as well as fear of an impending life of imprisonment when he turns twelve, returns to his dilapidated house, sets it on fire with himself his mother and some boyfriend of hers inside, and then goes to sleep in his little closet hideaway as it all burns down around him. Brutal. High drama doesn't come any more heartwrenching. And the powerful visuals and music of the way in which the distressing scene is done serves to create one of the saddest film moments ever made. It totally made me cry the first time I ever saw it.. The very idea that somebody so young could be so lost that they'd choose to destroy themselves is unthinkable, but it happens. I personally don't think he was failed by society, they tried to do a lot for him and his mother, while being woefully inept irresponsible and neglectful, was at least smart enough to eventually realise that the best and perhaps only thing she could do for him was to give him to somebody else... I'm sorry that he died and everything, and it was a good performance, but I couldn't stand Ferguson's character, he was such a self-centred dumb brat. I'm aware that when you're that age you are want to think only of yourself and that the world revolves around you, but he had a dysfunctional somewhat struggling family, a frazzled mother with a new baby, and a step-dad who seemed like a genuinely decent guy who only wanted to be his friend, but he just thought about him own needs - gah, kids today! I suppose his character does have development in that he finally figures out that Des is too dangerous to hang out with, and he does trust his step-dad enough to ask for his help, so at least that's something hopeful. Mimi Kuzak was also wonderful in her small role as the caring social worker who begins to gain Des' trust before their time together is cut short at the most critical time possible. I find her strongest moment to be after she's just told Des that his evaluation is over and he has to move on, and he pitifully asks her what it was he did wrong, and the way she tries to convince him that he's done nothing, it's like a part of her knows that something awful may eventually happen. And the haunting final image must be set after the event, it's her searching through all of the interview tapes, trying in vain to find some reason why... And it turns out that the only token of something positive was how Des wanted to help Cory's little sister find her monkey toy. "I don't remember..." A brilliant, but very harsh and painful film that I swear is immeasurably worthy of anyone's time. Thank you, that's it.

a great film

[luv-h8 · 10/10 · 18 June 2006]

i'm only 13, and i'm not really into true-life stories, but this one really got to me. my Nan was watching it on the true movie channel, i thought it was going to be rubbish, but i watched it and it was really cool, and at some points i nearly cried! i think it was really sad at the end. i think everyone would enjoy this film, even if it's not you thing, like me. i never actually saw it from the beginning, but the half i saw was great. it was on lats night again, but i didn't want to watch it in case i started to cry in front of every one! i was thinking of buying it and taking it to school, i'm sure they'll love it, and it's ideal for something like child development.

The white version of "Fresh"

[robert-macc · 10/10 · 31 January 2024]

This is a truly nasty film in every sense of the word. Teenage deliquents who are from broken homes. But this is far worse than your typical fair. UPN/Warner Bros./WB flagship stuff. The story is about a young boy named Des who is failed by the system several times, and has a mom who abuses her. Then he has a friend who is trying to go the right route, and his father tries to help him. Des does several crimes. It's a truly disturbing movie about kids involving juvenile crimes and it's a truly sad movie. It's as dark as "Fresh," and truly is creepy. The movie is marked by hard-hitting performances. And it's likely filmed in the same place "The Sentinel" was filmed, Vancouver.

little criminal's

[jack_warner24 · 10/10 · 19 June 2006]

this film is a good film but what makes it better is the fact its true it really moved me. Des is a great actor and really is moving in this film. things like this happen everyday but we don't know its great they made a movie like this i watched this movie on true movies a channel on sky and I'm going to buy it on DVD or video Corey is a good actor too i really think this movie reflects what really happens in real life. i actually thought this movie was set in the u.s.a but when i found out it was in Canada i was shocked. I'm not a person to really be moved by movies but this one got to my heart is really upset me that it really happen and a lad burn himself because he is so confused good movie 10 out 10

Great

[mikey-145 · 15 April 2000]

This is a really great film, it gives a realistic view of modern day life thru the eyes of one section of our young peoples community.

Although painful to watch at times, the film itself is great, the acting, as well as the message. It is complemented by the music.

I have had a copy of this film for three years now and is still on my regular to view list.

I f you can get a chance, watch it.