Billy Bob As a review of the film, I must at this time address the method of criticism. Numerous people responding to the film do not address the issue of gangs in postmodern times. In fact the term "gang" and what a gang is has evolved from the 1930 to present day (Rail, 1998). The idea of gangs overseas is completely different from the idea of gangs from that of the United States and the United Kingdom. Even the idea of gangs in London has changed (McDonald, 2010). For this very reason, it is unreasonable to assume that the definition of a gang today is the same as in the 1930's for example.Today has a different definition of what a gang is (Donahue & Willis, eds., 2002). Thus, I must address a more problematic issue with reviews on here. They are don't deal with the concepts of the historical and political environment of the film. This concept is a theory call New Historicism and Cultural Criticism (Tyson, 2006). Even Queer Theory, which addresses this issue, has yet to flesh itself out in the realm of New Historicism and Cultural Criticism.Now we need to deal with the issue of gender and sexuality. In fact, gender and sexuality has been under the gaze of Queer Theorists for a very long time, especially the 1990's (Butler, 2006). This is a reason why "gang" has different meanings. We even have people fighting back at the idea of "Queer," even in academia (Balswick & Balswick, 2008). For this reason, it is necessary to completely understand that it is unfair to place an unreasonable standard on this film.The film does reflect the issues of Queering gang related issues. This includes numerous issues of equality. It doesn't hide the concept of drugs and sex. For this reason, I praise the film for its delivery. Many expect the chemistry to be the protagonist and antagonist to fall in blind-love with each other. This is by far not the case. Thus, it is unfair to say that tension doesn't exist.The disjointed issues of the movie deal with the disjoint concepts of reality. It is Queer Realism Fiction in a film that I praise on numerous levels – including breaking ground is pushing it mainstream. I can call this the Gang Queer Realism version of "Rounding Third," by Walter G. Meyer.However, my issue is that the film crew should know that in Realism Fiction, the use of any special effects should be minimum.References Balswick, J. K., & Balswick, J. O. (2008). Authentic human sexuality: An integrated Christian approach. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic. Butler, J. (2006). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. New York, NY: Routledge. Donahue, S., & Willis, C. (Eds.). (2002). Gangs: Stories of life and death from the streets. New York, NY: Thunder Mouth Press. McDonald, B. (2010). Gangs of London: 100 years of mob warfare. Wrea Green, UK: Milo. Paris, J. W. (2011). The end of sexual identity: Why sex is too important to define who we are. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books. Rail, G. (1998). Sport and postmodern times. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Tyson, L. (2006). Critical theory today: A user-friendly guide. New York, NY: Routledge.

miguel-790-424268 This film is the most gaspingly and brutally real gay-themed film you will ever see.Cal, the central character is completely believable and represents every gay man's dream: a straight-acting hunky punk. His best mate is something out of my wildest fantasies. To be honest, I had a hardon for most of the film.Sure there are weaknesses in the dialogue and plot, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. The gang dynamic was confusing and underdeveloped. The blond girl took up too much of the film's emotional energy. The French lover was a bit awkward, but I've dated a French guy exactly like that, so it wasn't unrealistic.But I will remember this film- for being things that most films are not: daring, raw, unbridled, sexual, and hyperactive. I was shocked to hear that the director is only 21 and this is his first film! I hope to see a standing ovation at the Image & Nation festival in Montreal.Just watch it already!

gazzalere So this film Shank…. I was round at a friends house one night and I must stress he his gay, now he knows that I'm not but I'm also very much into my films. With a huge smile on his face he hands me a DVD and told me not to ask any questions but just watch it and review it so here I am doing just that....For the first few scenes of this film it comes across as very graphic, I won't say exactly how graphic but let's just say in terms of films that have concentrated on subjects such as the one portrayed it's the most graphic I've seen. It's clearly stated in the summery and plot synopsis that it's about a lad that after a chance meeting hits off a relationship but not just that this film has such a strong message on the kinds of things young gay couples or teenagers who think they are gay go through when it comes to telling family members and friends.Yes this film is also very graphic in terms of violence, in fact the finale of this film was very graphic, in some ways I wish I could have turned it off but I continued watching for the fact that the story of fear, changes and the intense storyline makes you want to watch it through till the end but trust me when you do finally make it to the end there is one last twist which will leave an impact in different ways on different people. If you're gay, straight or even bi try and get a copy of this film, even if your friends take the mick out of you for doing so then once you've watched it convince them to watch it and trust me they'll see that this film is much more than just a film about a lad figuring out that he's gay, it's something much different.

cinemabon While Independent films are not my usual cup of tea, I have enjoyed many through the years ("Sex, lies, and videotape" etc). I do not expect high production values or good cutting. I try to keep an open mind and look for break out performances or decent writing. The plot of "Shank" is fair and has potential. The execution by Simon Pearce is less than desirable. His overuse of symbolism and rough cut edits between subplots is so erratic that it makes the film difficult to follow at times. One way to smudge a scene, if you haven't got a shot in editing, is to add a blurry, out of focus shot as filler. I found too many of those to stay in my comfort zone.What did I find good about "Shank"? The dilemma of the gang person who is trying to find his own identity a good plot device. The subplot with the school teacher played a necessary role in the morality part of the story. However, when one actor carries such a heavy load as Wayne Virgo did for the part of Cal, then I believe you need to cast for more than just type. You must cast for talent. Marc Laurent did a good job as the French student and had a great sense of mise en scene. Another cast member that stood out was Tom Bott as Jonno. While his final scene was a bit much (director is responsible here), I thought he has great potential past this film.Today, thanks to advances in technology, young gay people have a choice of film subjects and styles geared toward their orientation and subculture. "Shank" tries to be honest and address the concerns of many young gay men, although the execution needs a leg up... to use the vernacular.