Small Faces

Contrary to the video box's mention of Trainspotting, the only thing this stark study of a working-class family in 1968 Glasgow has in common with last year's nihilistic portrait of modern Edinburgh youth is a Scottish setting and costar Kevin McKidd. More like a music-free Quadrophenia, Small Faces revolves around a 13-year-old (newcomer Iain Robertson) struggling to find a place in the world of his older brothers — one a promising artist (Joseph McFadden), the other an emotionally troubled gang member (J.S. Duffy). The Trainspotting ploy will catch eyes, but it's the brutal and touching tale itself, strong enough to cut through thick brogues and some abrupt plot jumps, that should win hearts. B