Former youth boxing champion Jimmy McCabe, after hitting rock bottom, returns to his childhood boxing club and his old team, gym owner Bill and corner-man Eddie.
Jawbone may be an example of the catharsis of filmmaking and storytelling, the first time effort at screenwriting for Harris and feature direction for Napper has culminated in a solid piece of filmmaking.
Rocky meets I, Daniel Blake may sound like a horrendous pitch, but the bones of just that are in this muscular feature debut from the character actor, and now writer and producer, Johnny Harris.
Like Steve McQueen's Shame or Gerard Johnson's Hyena, Jawbone is an intense and close-up depiction of a scarred individual going about his business with, largely, disastrous consequences.
While the basic framework of the Jawbone story hardly feels fresh, the execution from everyone involved makes it easy to overlook some of the more familiar elements. It's a sobering film, in many ways, and a quietly impressive one throughout.
As a writing debut for Harris and a feature-directing debut for Napper, this is extremely promising. As a role for Harris, it's a sign that a great British actor may have just hit his moment.
This is a solid film making achievement for Harris and Napper. They've successfully tackled the story with an original angle whilst still playing tribute to the conventions of the boxing narrative.
