This review was originally published on May 21, 2025, as a part of our Cannes Film Festival coverage.

Urchin follows Frank Dillane ( Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) as Mike, a homeless Londoner who can’t seem to catch a break. In between battling his lack of stability for the past five years, he struggles with substance abuse, which keeps him in a vicious cycle of self-destruction. Even help from strangers seems to be a trigger point for Mike, inducing erratic behavior at inopportune moments. When a man named Simon offers to buy him food, Mike slugs him, then steals his watch as a thank-you.

The mugging seemingly acts as the central event that sends Mike on a downward spiral. However, first-time feature director Harris Dickinson, who also wrote the script, doesn’t play all th

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