After seeing The Guilty (2018-also reviewed) I decided to check what other titles were leaving Netflix. Going down the list, I noticed a interesting-sounding title,which had Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) as a plot element,leading to me meeting Mickybo.

View on the film:

Bringing Mickybo and Jono together across a bridge symbolising The Troubles in 1970 Northern Ireland, writer/director Terry Loane makes his feature film debut with an adaptation of Owen McCafferty that loads the fantasy wishes of the lads living the Butch and Sundance life, with the "Kitchen Sink" harsh reality of regular bombings taking place on their streets.

Travelling across the country imagining they are cowboys, Loane refreshingly does not mollycoddle the earthy hard edges in the friendship between Mickybo and Jono, as the lads get into knife fights with other boys, and cause tension between the parents as they cross the divide.

Held in a dreams state by seeing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on the big screen, director Loane & cinematographer Roman Osin bring soft-focus fantasy sequences of the lads imagining themselves as the cowboys, with the unflinching reality of The Troubles in the 1970's with a excellent dour colours papering the walls of every location, unrolled in stylish wide-shots along the grey crumbing bridge where Mickybo and Jonjo meet at high noon.

1970 Belfast...

Engaging and enjoyable film contrasting childhood innocence with 1970 Belfast.

Both young leads deliver brilliant performances, supported by a cast of familiar faces and characters from other British coming of age movies. The innocence of 'Sundance' while eroded throughout the film is replaced with a healthy ability to express self-assertion. Mickeybo in contrast is continually proven to be limited in his ability to live an independent life, instead found increasingly reliant on the trust and support of others.

Centre stage is the clash between contemporary culture and living and the naïve imagination and bold arrogance of youth.

The film presents Belfast as a dingy slum, divided by religion and suppressed by poverty and haunted by sham distractions. Childhood is tarnished by violence, death and crime. Yet Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid ironically offers escape, romanticising the same themes and presenting brotherhood and exotic locations as their remedy. While the boys are not broken by their failure to reach Australia, it is clear that a break from Belfast life and a taste of true independence and adventure is what they seek.

Attention to period setting and realism with an acceptable level of creative license produces a believable and appreciated caper.

The world could be much better and easier if the children were heard or if they could speak more. The real world problems and boring routine are fantasy and dream for the kids.

Mickybo and JonJo are two of these young beings who simply don't see the things the way we adults too. They love cinema and have a special passion for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. After watching their heroes at the movie theatre they see daily life as a scenery for the adventures they create on their fresh minds.

They live in Belfast, a beautiful city that is unfortunately terrorized by bombs and religious division. They live on opposite sites of the place, but the imagination and sense of adventure they share make their friendship develop fast. This is a nice film that makes us see the hard reality through the eyes of these kids who do their best to make their dreams come true. We learn a lesson out of it: we should never stop dreaming.