| Mal is an ex-soldier, blinded in action, bitter, living alone and with no friends.
No human ones anyway. We first see him as a prostitute departs from his flat, probably robbing him.
He lives on a bleak concrete estate, and actually he does have one friend - his guide dog Quincy. He explains later that he isn't even much of a guide dog, but what he is, is a very important friend.
He encounters a gang of young layabouts, and later whilst throwing a rubber ball on a patch of grass, Quincy disappears. Mal hears a high-pitched laugh which he remembers from the earlier encounter.
Even though he has great difficulty getting around anywhere on his own, he is desperate to find the dog.
Howard (Jack Shepherd) is at least sympathetic, and he does meet single mum Paula (Zoe Telford) who tries to help. However she is protective of her teenage son and this causes conflict.
The film paints an unappealing picture of life in the lower reaches of modern Britain, and the unwillingness of people to open up to each other in these circumstances.
Alec Newman is tremendous as the embittered ex-soldier and so is Zoe Telford as Paula, the polar opposite of her assured PA to the PM in Yes Prime Minister. Both were at the Q&A after this showing at the EIFF, along with the Pitt brothers.
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