Responsible Child Review

Responsible Child was a TV movie for BBC Two about how the legal system treats children accused of serious crimes.

Ray (Billy Barratt) is a 12-year-old boy who is accused of a violent murder. The film looks at the run-up to the crime, what drove Ray to do it, and the legal proceed afterwards.

In recent years BBC Two has become a home for high calibre TV dramas and Responsible Child was no exception. Responsible Child had a clear aim: show the issues revolving around the age of criminal responsibility in the UK. The film states at the beginning it was based on a true case and people could easily translate other famous cases like the trial of Robert Thompson and Jon Venables. That case lead to a big debate on the age of criminal responsibility within the UK.

The makers of Responsible Child were clearly of the opinion that the age of criminal responsibility in the UK is too young. Characters point out that a child could be tried as an adult, yet need to be 16 to buy a pet, and if Ray was a 30-year-old man with the mental age of a 12-year-old he wouldn’t be considered fit to stand trial.

Obviously, these are complex issues and the audience was privy to the details of the case. We can sympathise with Ray and guided to a certain way of thinking. No matter what your opinion is there’s no denying that a child going into an adult court would be overwhelming and reporting of these cases should be dealt with delicately.

As well as being an indictment of the British legal system, the filmmakers targeted failings in other institutions. Early on in the film Ray’s stepdad (Shaun Dingwall) tries to kill his older brother (James Tarpey) but was acquitted of the crime. Despite the stepfather being a violent man, he’s allowed to come home because social services believed his presence was good for the younger children. Ray clearly suffered at school because of this yet social services do nothing.

The film’s title had a double meaning. As well as being a legal term, “Responsible Child” referenced to Ray having to take care of his family. His mother (Debbie Honeywood) gets abused by his stepfather, Nathan falls into a deep depression after the stepfather gets released, and Ray used a clothing allowance from the school to buy clothes for his sisters. Ray committed the murder as a desperate attempt to protect his family.

Although Responsible Child was a TV movie it really came across more like a British indie film. It’s the kind of film directors like Andrea Arnold and Clio Barnard: a social realistic story that was filled with grit. It used the techniques of these films like the use of handheld cameras. Scenes, where Ray finds tranquillity on a tyre swing, gives Responsible Child that indie film vibe.

Responsible Child was a well-intended film that looked at serious legal and social issues. It works as a legal story and a character drama.