| A Sense of Freedom | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Genre | True crime Drama Thriller |
| Written by | Peter McDougall |
| Story by | Jimmy Boyle |
| Directed by | John Mackenzie |
| Starring | David Hayman Jake D'Arcy Sean Scanlan Hector Nicol Fulton Mackay |
| Music by | Frankie Miller Rory Gallagher |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producer | Jeremy Isaacs |
| Cinematography | Chris Menges |
| Editor | Alan MacMillan |
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Production company | Scottish Television |
| Budget | £500,000[1] |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | February 17, 1981 |
A Sense of Freedom is a 1981 Scottish crime film directed by John Mackenzie for Scottish Television.[2] The film stars David Hayman and featured Jake D'Arcy, Sean Scanlan, Hector Nicol, Alex Norton and Fulton Mackay.[3] It is based on the 1977 autobiography of Glasgow gangster Jimmy Boyle, who was reputed to be Scotland's most violent man.[4]
A harrowing tale of a habitual and brutal criminal. Boyle repeatedly resisted attempts by the Prison Service to dampen his temper. He was brutally assaulted many times by Prison Officers.[5] He also assaulted many staff including a brutal attack causing an officer to lose his eye.[6]
The film received a BAFTA nomination for Best Single Play.[7]
Cast
[edit]- Jimmy Boyle - David Hayman
- Rab - Jake D'Arcy
- Jada - Sean Scanlan
- Malkie - Alex Norton
- Piper - John Murtagh
- Chief officer - Roy Hanlon
- Inspector Davidson - Fulton Mackay
- Bobbie Dougan - Martin Black
- Uncle Jodie - Hector Nicol
- Barman - Frank Welshman
- Boyle's mother - Katy Gardiner
- Archie - Billy Jeffrey
- Judge - David Steuart
- Prison officer - Ken Drury
- Prison governor - Gerry Slevin
- Prison governor - Ron Paterson
- Prison governor - Hugh Martin
- Special unit officer - Jackie Farrell
Production
[edit]Jeremy Isaacs read the book A Sense of Freedom and thought that it was ideal for filming. He optioned the book and attracted interest from Scottish Television (STV); Isaacs wrote that Bill Brown's support was crucial.[8] Isaac then attached writer Peter MacDougall and director John Mackenzie who had worked together for the BBC on three episodes of Play for Today: Just Another Saturday (1975), The Elephants' Graveyard (1976) and Just a Boys' Game (1979). The film was financed by STV.[9]
Hayman said that he spent five weeks training in the gym and two weeks in pubs in the east end of Glasgow observing people, in preparation for his role.[10] Due to non-co-operation by the Scottish Prison Service in allowing a film crew access to their property, Hayman's scenes in prison were filmed in Dublin's Kilmainham Jail.[11] Strathclyde Council also prohibited the film from being shot within its borders.[9] Local courts refused to allow the film to use it as a location, forcing the producers to build a set. However most of the film was eventually shot in Scotland.[12]
In August 1980 Scottish Television refused to allow the film to be entered into the Edinburgh Film Festival, which was showing a retrospective of John MacKenzie's work. Producer Kenith Todd said this was essentially a ban.[9]
Music
[edit]The music is by Frankie Miller and Rory Gallagher.[13]
Release
[edit]The film was broadcast on ITV on 17 February 1981. The following evening they screened a debate about the case called A Long Term Solution? chaired by Desmond Wilcox.[14][15]
The Scottish Daily Record called it "The most powerful piece of television ever to come out of Scotland."[1] "Rarely has time passed so slowly or tediously," wrote Nancy Banks-Smith in The Guardian about the film who noted that McKenzie had triumphed in his objective to convey the feeling of time passing slowly.[16] The Daily Telegraph review rated the film as outstanding and praised Hayman's powerful performance.[15]
In May 1984 it was announced that HandMade Films - which had helped finance MacKenzie's 1980 film The Long Good Friday - had agreed to distribute the film in cinemas outside the UK.[17][18]
The film received a release in some US cinemas in 1985.
Notes
[edit]- Isaacs, Jeremy (2006). Look me in the eye : a life in television. Little, Brown.
References
[edit]- ^ a b Millar, John (12 February 1981). "Boyle Exposed". Daily Record. pp. 80–81.
- ^ "A Sense of Freedom (1981)". BFI. Archived from the original on 2 November 2017.
- ^ "A Sense of Freedom (1985) - John Mackenzie | Cast and Crew | AllMovie" – via www.allmovie.com.
- ^ "A Sense of Freedom". STV Player. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ Campbell, Duncan (20 May 2016). "Glasgow gangster turned writer Jimmy Boyle: 'I would be dead now without books'". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ "How Jimmy Boyle went from violent gangster to leading artist". The Scotsman.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". BAFTA. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
- ^ Isaac p 256-258
- ^ a b c "Ban on festival film". The Daily Telegraph. 29 August 1980. p. 10.
- ^ Young, Andrew (18 February 1981). "How a Londoner learned to be a Glaswegian Hardman". The Glasgow Herald. p. 29. Retrieved 2 January 2026 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Balkind, Nicola (19 October 2013). World Film Locations: Glasgow. Intellect Books. ISBN 9781841507194 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Definitely not a kissing phase". The Guardian. 16 February 1981. p. 11.
- ^ Matthews, Simon (28 January 2021). Looking for a New England: Action, Time, Vision: Music, Film and TV 1975 - 1986. Oldcastle Books. ISBN 9780857304124 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Television/Radio". The Guardian. 17 February 1981. p. 24.
- ^ a b Campbell Dixon, Anne (17 February 1981). "Television - Tuesday". The Daily Telegraph. p. 31.
- ^ Banks-Smith, Nancy (18 February 1981). "Dog Days". The Guardian. p. 10.
- ^ "Big jump". Daily Record. 12 May 1984. p. 21.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (2 January 2026). "Forgotten British Moguls: Denis O'Brien". Filmink. Retrieved 2 January 2026.