Drama directed by John Madden with a screenplay by Daniel Boyle (not to be confused with Danny Boyle). Charlie Dyce (Jonny Lee Miller), having just been released from a young offenders' institution, makes his way to London. He winds up working as a waiter in a run-down cafe where he meets and falls in love with Myra (Sarah-Jane Potts), much to the displeasure of Frank (Peter Wight), Myra's pimp.
Provides examples of:
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Frank really does not like the idea of Myra having a boyfriend because Myra has refused his pleas to become his kept woman.
- Despair Event Horizon: Charlie hits this when Myra tells him that she miscarried after being knocked down by a car.
- Greasy Spoon: The diner where Charlie works and most of the action takes place. The place is virtually deserted during opening hours and doesn't appear to have any customers besides Frank's underlings.
- Hooker with a Heart of Gold: Myra. Rather than being the older, world-weary maternal figure often seen with this trope, she's a pretty normal teenager and takes a pragmatic view of things when it comes to her job.
- Juvenile Hell: A mixed example. One of the prison officers that we see on Charlie's last day in Young Offenders clearly delights in belittling Charlie in and attempts to get a rise out of him purely for the sake of humiliating him. On the other hand, there was at least one officer, Mr Cadzow, who took a genuine interest in his welfare and helped him to keep his nose clean while he was inside.
- Montage: One intercutting Myra's physio after her accident with Charlie working on the streets.
- Rape as Drama: After Frank discovers that Myra is pregnant with Charlie's baby, he takes his revenge by breaking into Charlie's caravan and raping Myra.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Mr Cadzow, who gives Charlie some life advice and wishes him well on his return to the outside world.
- Scarpia Ultimatum: Charlie does this to Myra, but using himself as bait. If she doesn't agree to have sex with him on stage a private show that he arranged without telling her, the punters will beat the living daylights out of him and could quite possibly kill him.
- Streetwalker: Myra and the other girls in Frank's stable go out looking for work on the streets of Soho and Piccadilly.
