Harris Dickinson’s “Urchin” (2025), which premiered at Cannes, presents a grounded portrait of a recovering addict trying to survive as an unhoused citizen in London. Dickinson, who makes his feature directorial debut with this movie, makes a thoughtful choice by avoiding the clichés of similar dramas that chase sappiness over authenticity. His film isn’t a comprehensive look into the maladies of unhoused people, nor does it pretend to be. It focuses on one person affected by this human-made crisis, and offers a balanced portrait of his flaws without outright celebrating or vilifying him for them. That allows him to simultaneously scrutinize the systems that affect everyone, such as the protagonist, who struggles to find even a fighting chance at redemption.
Frank Dillane becomes the perfect anchor for the humanistic drama, conveying the restlessness of this character, left with a choice between resilience and surrender simply to survive. Despite a few limitations, Dickinson’s film is one of the most memorable debuts of the year, thanks to its vivid and visceral portrayal of someone consumed by their self-destructive habits.
Spoilers Ahead
Urchin (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Harris Dickinson’s “Urchin,” starring Frank Dillane, follows a young addict recovering from his urges while contending with his reality as an unhoused citizen in London.
What happens in ‘Urchin’?
Mike (Frank Dillane), a 20-something man living on the streets of London, struggles to get his life back on track. His addiction leads him to a self-destructive behavioral pattern, which keeps him at bay from leading a stable life. It gets worse when Nathan (Harris Dickinson), a man with similar financial struggles, steals his wallet. Mike tracks down Nathan and beats him until he returns the wallet. Simon (Okezie Morro), a man who works in a nearby office, stops their fight and offers to buy him a meal. Mike beats him and steals his wallet. He thinks no one would notice the mugging since they were in a dark spot. Still, the police find and arrest him.
When asked about what happened, Mike lies. He claims that Simon provoked him to fight by beating him, only to realize that the cops have the CCTV footage to prove otherwise. So, he stays locked in jail for a while before finding another shot at redemption through the restorative justice system. Nadia shares details of the process and offers him a place to stay at a lodge. He realizes that he doesn’t stand a strong chance of finding a long-term housing arrangement within this system because of his criminal record. Still, regardless of the outcome, he agrees to meet Simon to hear his side of the story and to make amends.
How does Mike try to redeem himself?
Mike begins working at a local restaurant, hoping to start his life anew. Franco (Amr Waked) offers him this job despite realizing his recent run-ins with the law. Ramona (Karyna Khymchuk) figures he is lonely and decides to make him feel at ease with himself. He joins her and another colleague at a karaoke bar and enjoys their time together. They give him a much-needed nudge to start being comfortable in his skin. It works well until his past starts creeping up on him. He goes to buy some clothes from a local shop, but walks out the moment he sees Nathan, desperate to use the restroom. Instead of helping Nathan, he decides not to face him at all.
Eventually, he meets Simon to realize the consequences of his reckless actions. Because he beat Simon so badly, Simon couldn’t show up for his young daughter’s birthday celebration. Yet, despite all of it, Simon doesn’t get remotely angry and, as earlier, remains calm and compassionate. That stirs up Mike’s shame and guilt that he struggles to get over. It affects his dynamic at the restaurant, where he suddenly gets upset at his head chef for teasing him. The outburst seems like a result of his pent-up anger over people making him feel small or insignificant. No matter what the reason, his outburst gets him fired from the position. So, he finds another job, working as a waste picker.
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That’s where he meets Andrea (Megan Northam), who shows him the ropes and reveals her life philosophy. She doesn’t value money and believes people shouldn’t let it affect their decisions. Instead of money controlling our lives, she thinks we should live on our own terms. Simon, on the other hand, values financial independence, even if your choices are often driven by your desire to earn money. Despite their differing opinions, they bond without much effort. She takes him to her van and shares her hopes and dreams with him. That makes Mike feel included and supported somewhere by someone, but that joy doesn’t last long.
Urchin (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
Mike joins Andrea and another couple for a meal, where they engage in free-flowing discussions about everything from industrialization and consumerism to the education system. They drink, get high, and dance around a bonfire before heading to the city. They enter an exhibition space to watch an abstract dance performance full of passion and emphasis. It evokes something deeper in Mike and reminds him of the time he beat Simon. He questions what got over him at that moment. Simon was only trying to help him, and yet, he couldn’t control himself. He was already angry at Nathan for stealing his wallet, but that doesn’t make his actions valid. That’s why, in the present, he feels a rush of resentment toward himself.
He walks into the restroom to find an old woman sitting in a cubicle with her eyes closed. While it’s only a part of his imagination, it upsets him even more. It also affects his relationship with Andrea beyond repair. He insults her life’s choices after asking her for a place to stay. So, she throws him out of her van, leaving him on his own to find another place after losing his room in the lodge. Unlike him, Nathan finds a place to stay at an old woman’s apartment, along with a full-time job at a vet’s office. It makes Mike feel worse about his life. He tries to drink away his pain by boozing and getting high on the streets with random strangers. That doesn’t help him get the high he wanted.
What do the final moments mean for Mike’s redemption?
Instead, it pushes him further down the spiral, where he seeks warmth in familiar faces. In that state, he sees an old woman walking past him and approaches her. Suddenly, it’s like he loses control over his limbs and gets pulled down a doorway against his will. It leads him to a room with Nathan, who walks up to him and hugs him. Moments after that embrace, he throws Mike down an abyss.
The film leaves these final moments open for interpretation. It doesn’t reveal the identity of the woman Mike keeps seeing whenever he starts losing his senses. So, the woman might be someone he used to look up to for emotional warmth, and her absence may have led him to his constant struggle with addiction. She might be his biological mother, or his foster parents that he regrets leaving behind.
He seeks booze as a comforting escape whenever reality starts weighing on him. It leads him to hit rock bottom without any plans for the future or people he could lean on for emotional support. Therefore, the final moments may indicate either a potential or his desire for rebirth, since we see him return to an infant-like state after being dropped into the abyss. It represents a seemingly endless cycle where he would have to get back on his feet, even when reality betrays him or his vices overwhelm him.
Urchin (2025) Movie Themes Analyzed:
Addiction and Societal Alienation
Dickinson’s script follows an orphaned addict, estranged from his foster parent/s, leading a life by the beat without a clear direction or a sense of purpose. It all leads the character to feel profoundly alienated from the world, while constantly falling back into a habitual pattern guided by his worst impulses. The script doesn’t absolve Mike from his mistakes, but offers a broader perspective on issues that lead one on this path.
It boils down to systemic issues where people are pro-life until it comes to taking care of the lives being born. Even Simon points out how empathy from those in power is often limited to their performative goodwill. It’s almost like they want people to suffer so that they can emerge as charitable figures through their philanthropy.
