[5] Johnny Kirkland (Jason Connery) is a university student having problems with his alcoholic and emotionally damaged mother (Diane Cilento), who was recently divorced.

The original draft started when the lead character was 28 but this was changed to begin when he was at university because it was felt this would make the movie more commercial.

[6] It was also set further back in the past, as the suggestion of script editor Sandra Levy.

[1] Wallace says he was unhappy with the casting: Diane Cilento tried to play working-class, but it just didn't work.

Jason Connery was very young then and he was very nervous about the film and thought it would ruin his image, and he was never very friendly to me.