Mallboy

A boy climbs an unsteady path to adulthood under difficult circumstances in this drama from Australia Shaun Kane McNay is a teenager growing up in a rundown suburb of Melbourne His father Sam Brett Swain is in prison while his mother Jenny Nell Feeney is too lost in her problems with alcohol to provide much guidance for her children Left to his own devices Shaun commits petty theft smokes pot and deals drugs to his friends as they hang out at the nearby shopping mall Shaun seems unable to reach out to anyone not even his girlfriend Lauren Hawker or Darren Brett Tucker a social worker eager to help him When his father is released from prison and brings his mistress to the Welcome Home party Jenny throws for him Shaun comes to realize that if he is ever to resolve his problems he will have to do it without the help of his family Mallboy marked the feature film debut for writerdirector Vincent Giarrusso