Actors making the transition to directing are a dime a dozen, but there’s something special about Urchin , Harris Dickinson ’s feature debut. Sure, he’s navigated his career so far with impeccable taste, working with the likes of Joanna Hogg and Steve McQueen , but as a filmmaker he’s more than just a sponge for his collaborators — he’s a fresh and original artist in his own right.

In the impersonal expanse of London, Dickinson finds a personal story. Mike (Frank Dillane) has been sleeping rough in any dark corner he can find for a number of years. When one unassuming stranger offers to buy him a sandwich, Mike mugs him and lands himself time behind bars. After his release, he’s sober and takes up a cooking job at a budget hotel — but Mike’s self-sabotaging tendencies prevent him fr

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