There’s a touch of Slumdog meets City of God about this tale (from Andy Mulligan’s 2010 novel) of three Brazilian street kids caught in a web of corruption after finding a wallet in the rubbish tips of Rio de Janeiro. Martin Sheen and Rooney Mara get top billing, but the real stars are Rickson Tevez, Eduardo Luis, and Gabriel Weinstein, new recruits from the Brazilian favelas who are just terrific as the teenagers upon whose lives the drama rests. Sensitively scripted by Richard Curtis, this has its feet in the gutter and its head in the clouds. Director Stephen Daldry rediscovers the upbeat oomph that powered his debut feature Billy Elliot, finding hope and humour amid the squalor and violence of the narrative’s darker turns.
