Let Him Have It

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Let Him Have It

R,

1991,

1h 59m,

Crime/

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

84%

37 Reviews

Tomatometer

85%

1,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

84%

Tomatometer

37 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

In this fact-based film, British working class teens Derek Bentley (Christopher Eccleston) and Chris Craig (Paul Reynolds) take to behaving like the film noir antiheroes they idolize, and Chris begins carrying a gun to look the part. Unfortunately, the boys have a run-in with a police officer that takes a tragic turn, and Derek and Chris end up on trial for murder. While Chris is still a minor and faces only a prison sentence, the older Derek will be put to death if he can't prove his innocence.

Critics Consensus

Led by a gripping performance from Christopher Eccleston, Let Him Have It sounds a compelling call for justice on behalf of its real-life protagonist.

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Peter Rainer

Los Angeles Times

Oct 28, 2014

Courtenay slowly works his way into the center of the movie's sympathies. When he embraces his remaining family at the moment of his son's execution, his sorrow seems boundless.

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Clifford Terry

Chicago Tribune

Oct 28, 2014

3.5/4

As the protagonist/victim, Eccleston gives a superb, riveting performance in his feature-film debut, as does Reynolds, another newcomer who deftly handles the role of the gun-crazy and trigger-happy Chris.

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Desmond Ryan

Philadelphia Inquirer

Oct 28, 2014

4/4

Let Him Have It is unabashedly weighted toward the perspective of the murderer as victim -- a notion that does not enjoy much public currency in our more violent times. But if ever there was a victim of the judicial system, it was Derek Bentley.

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Alistair Lawrence

Common Sense Media

Dec 2, 2021

3/5

While uneven, Let Him Have It manages to remain watchable because of the controversial chain of events that it depicts. It's a valuable history lesson, but far from a classic.

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Harriet Waugh

The Spectator

Jul 19, 2018

This is deeply moving, and I nearly wept.

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David Sterritt

Christian Science Monitor

Oct 28, 2014

The last 30 minutes of the story are overwhelmingly strong, blending human drama and social history into a series of extremely moving scenes, leading to a brief coda that's as unexpected and audacious as anything seen on a movie screen in years.

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Peter Medak

Director

Christopher Eccleston

Derek Bentley

Paul Reynolds

Chris Craig

Tom Courtenay

William Bentley

Tom Bell

Fairfax

Eileen Atkins

Lilian Bentley

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Synopsis

In this fact-based film, British working class teens Derek Bentley (Christopher Eccleston) and Chris Craig (Paul Reynolds) take to behaving like the film noir antiheroes they idolize, and Chris begins carrying a gun to look the part. Unfortunately, the boys have a run-in with a police officer that takes a tragic turn, and Derek and Chris end up on trial for murder. While Chris is still a minor and faces only a prison sentence, the older Derek will be put to death if he can't prove his innocence.

Director: Peter Medak
Producer: Luc Roeg
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA): $83.3K
Runtime: 1h 59m
Sound Mix: Surround

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