James Bulger’s father ‘furious’ over film’s Oscar tip

The father of James Bulger, a UK toddler whose murder in the early nineties horrified the world, has lashed out after a film exploring his son’s death was tipped as a potential Oscar winner.

Ralph Bulger claims Detainment was not only made without any consideration for his family, but also focuses too heavily on creating a sympathetic view of his son’s murderers, Robert Thompson and Jon Venables.

“It will be horrific if this film wins an Oscar or any awards, given the disregard shown to James’s family,” he told The Mirror.

Directed by Vince Lambe, the film is a short feature based on interviews with the then 10-year-old boys who brutally tortured and killed James, who was just two years old.

The film was released last year to acclaim at several film festivals and has already won two awards, however its Oscar nod has left Mr Bulger feeling ‘furious’.

“Not once has the maker of this film contacted me or any of James’s family about this film.”

“I have never been so cut up and offended by something that shows so little compassion to James and his family.”

James was abducted from a shopping centre in Bootle, Liverpool, in 1993 by Thompson and Venables, who proceeded to torture and murder the toddler.

The boys were arrested shortly after the murder and convicted the same year.

They were granted lifelong anonymity and released in 2001, at which point they were given new identities, however Venables has since been jailed twice on child pornography charges.

Mr Bulger admitted he understands his son’s murder will always be explored in films, news, documentaries and the like, but to make a film that so fully sympathises with his son’s killers “is devastating”.

However, director Lambe insists the reason he never contacted the Bulger family about Detainment was because he knew “they wouldn’t want a film like this to be made.”

Speaking to Good Morning Britain he explained that while some may feel it’s wrong to “humanise these boys”, in order for them to be seen as human beings they need to be portrayed more sympathetically.

According to Lambe, this is the only way to understand why the boys committed the crime and prevent such a crime from occurring again.

“I think people should remember that while the film is factual, it really just gives a brief glimpse of one aspect of the case,” he said in June 2018.

“It’s impossible to show the unimaginable pain of James Bulger’s family in the space of a short film.”

But Mr Bulger disagrees; in his mind, all Detainment does is encourage “a macabre fascination and obsession about James’ murder.”

Former police chief Albert Kirby, the man who led the investigation into James’ murder, supports the grieving father’s outrage over the film.

“It lacks any form of taste or decency and has been made without any consideration of the effect on […] the family,” he said.