Chicken

Scott Chambers’ superb performance as a boy with learning difficulties anchors this deftly drawn drama about two brothers’ fragile rural existence.

Richard (Scott Chambers) is a 15-year-old boy with learning difficulties, content with his harsh existence on a caravan site, where his friendship with pet hen Fiona is the most meaningful of relationships. But his brother Polly (Morgan Watkins) retains the most influence over his life, and when Polly becomes besotted with the daughter of the landowner who wants to evict the siblings, Richard’s sense of stasis is torn asunder.

Joe Stephenson’s tender and beautifully acted debut feature deftly utilises stark East Anglian landscapes to expand Freddie Machin’s play. Produced entirely independently on a limited budget, Chicken is a shining example of independent British filmmaking that’s won high praise from critics such as Mark Kermode.