Frank Dillane plays a homeless addict in London who keeps getting another shot at stability, then blows it in painfully recognisable ways. Harris Dickinson’s directing debut turns that spiral into a raw, darkly funny character study that sticks with you long after the lights come up.
Film details
- Title: Urchin
- Dutch cinema release: 25 December 2025
- Director: Harris Dickinson
- Runtime: 100 minutes (Dutch listings)
- Country: United Kingdom
- Language & subtitles: English spoken, Dutch subtitles in Rotterdam cinemas
- Age rating: 12+ with drug use and strong language (Kijkwijzer)
- Main cast: Frank Dillane, Megan Northam, Karyna Khymchuk, Shonagh Marie, Amr Waked, Harris Dickinson
- Where to watch in Rotterdam: KINO, Cinerama, LantarenVenster
What’s the vibe?
Urchin follows Mike, a young man who has been living on the streets of London for years. After a stint in prison, he gets a rare combination of second chances: a hostel bed, a job, even the start of a cautiously hopeful relationship. He wants quiet, routine and a life that does not feel like an emergency. The streets, the system and his own patterns have other ideas.
The film balances social realism with streaks of black humour and strange, dreamlike detours. One moment you are watching Mike haul bins for his new job, the next you are inside his head, trying to work out whether a situation is real or just anxiety playing tricks. It is not miserablist, but it does refuse easy redemption. Expect rough edges, sharp dialogue and a London that feels cold, spiky and occasionally tender.
Trailer
Check out the trailer below.
Why you might like it
- Eyes: Green-tinted posters are a clue. The cinematography keeps Mike slightly off balance in alleys, hostels and tiny rooms, with sudden bursts of surreal imagery that keep the film visually alive.
- Heart: Dillane gives Mike a mix of swagger, shame and vulnerability that is hard to shake. You see how badly he wants to do better, and how quickly that desire gets buried under panic and habit.
- Mind: Urchin is also about systems. It looks at what happens when someone is technically “helped” yet still falls through the cracks, and how addiction, poverty and bureaucracy knot together. Good material for a post-film discussion on the tram home.
Critical reception
Critics are very into this one. On Rotten Tomatoes, Urchin currently holds a 96 percent critics’ score with a “certified fresh” label, praised as an emotionally raw debut that pairs Dickinson’s compassionate direction with Dillane’s uncompromising performance.
Metacritic lists a weighted average of 77 out of 100 based on several dozen reviews, which puts it firmly in the “generally favourable” zone. The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw gave it four stars, calling it a terrific directorial debut about a man who keeps sabotaging his own rescue. Variety also singled out Dillane’s “jaggedly heartbreaking” work and noted how Dickinson steps back as an actor so the camera can study Mike instead.
At Cannes, Urchin premiered in the Un Certain Regard section, where Frank Dillane won the best actor award and Dickinson picked up the FIPRESCI prize for direction. Since then, it has been popping up on “best of 2025” lists, often highlighted as one of the standout debuts of the year.
Scene to watch for
Keep an eye out for the restorative justice meeting between Mike and one of his victims. It is a small room, a static setup and very little music. What starts as a stiff, procedural encounter slowly turns into something raw and uncomfortable as Mike flails between defensiveness and shame. Dillane’s performance here is like a pressure cooker: tiny changes in his posture and voice tell you exactly how hard he is working just to stay in the chair. It is not a big, showy monologue, yet it feels like the moral centre of the film.
Recommended pairing
- Pre-film bite: Something cheap and comforting that you could realistically eat out of a paper tray, like fries or a loaded snack box. It fits the street-level setting and keeps you grounded.
- Post-film reset: Walk along the Maas or through your own Rotterdam neighbourhood, headphones in, and give yourself a bit of space before heading home. This one is emotionally heavy in a quiet way.
- At-home follow up: If you are in the mood, journal a little about a time you tried to change a habit and how your environment helped or made it harder. Urchin is very good at reminding you that context matters.
Need-to-knows
Dutch cinemas list the runtime as 100 minutes, while international festival listings sometimes say 99, so do not worry if you see both figures mentioned. Screenings in Rotterdam are in English with Dutch subtitles, and Kijkwijzer has tagged the film for drug use, coarse language and a 12-plus audience.
Urchin is Harris Dickinson’s first feature as a director after acting in projects like Triangle of Sadness, Scrapper and The Iron Claw, which partly explains the confident performance direction. He has described the film as being about mental health and people who “fall between the cracks” of the system, something that comes through strongly in the way supporting characters orbit Mike.
In Rotterdam, you will find multiple screenings clustered around Christmas week, especially at LantarenVenster, which is leaning into it as a key winter title. Check each cinema’s agenda for exact times, since slots can shift between early evening and late-night showings.
