It's unfortunate for this Anglo-Irish film that it reminds one so remorselessly of Ken Loach's classic, Kes, because it simply hasn't the power of expression to seem other than fairly small beer beside it.
Set in Belfast, in the aftermath of the worst of the troubles, it centres on a young boy (Tyrone McKenna) who works for a crooked greyhound trainer (Ken Stott), saves a dog that his boss wants to put down, and runs him as The Mighty Celt.
Meanwhile, the boy discovers from his mother (Gillian Anderson) that the ex-IRA man who befriends him (Robert Carlyle) is his father. He loses his beloved dog but finds a dad.
Writer/director Pearce Elliott tells his simple story well enough and gets excellent performances from his cast, particularly Carlyle and Anderson, who manages a credible Irish accent as a single mum marked by the death of her brother.
But he is less successful in his attempt to suggest a community still riven with suspicion and hatred, since his film is both underwritten and slightly undercharacterised.
Sincere and convincingly set within its working-class milieu, all the same. Worth a look.
The Mighty Celt
Cert: cert12A
