Neds

The film opens with a leaving ceremony marking John's transition from primary to secondary school. On his final day, he is approached by Canta, a local bully, who threatens him and warns about his new school. John's brother helps him deal with the bullying threat by enlisting gang members to confront Canta.

John begins his new secondary school and initially adjusts well, though he is not in the top class. The headmaster promises a promotion by Christmas once he proves himself, and John successfully advances. However, he quickly becomes socially isolated and feels out of place among his peers.

John attends a summer camp for children with disabilities after his teacher recommends it. During the camp, he befriends Julian, a middle-class boy. However, he is forbidden from seeing Julian again after accidentally breaking a record of Julian’s father, which causes a rift with Julian's family.

While walking home, John is threatened by members of the Car-D gang, who initially want to mug him. Recognizing his brother's association with the gang, they stop threatening him and invite him to join. John accepts, marking the beginning of his involvement in gang activities.

John's behavior worsens; he starts drawing graffiti, being rude to teachers, and smoking cigarettes. He gets involved in gang fights and obtains a knife during an altercation, indicating his descent into delinquency and violent conflicts with rival gangs.

In response to rejection from Julian's family, John vandalizes their home by throwing fireworks-filled football boots through the window. He later joins gang fights, including a bicycle attack, and runs into a rival gang where he fights and is ambushed, escalating gang conflicts.

John encounters his former bully Canta, now appearing pitiful and isolated. After a brief confrontation where Canta makes a snide remark, John attacks him, knocking him down and dropping a stone slab on his head, resulting in lasting brain damage, signifying John's increasing violence.

John's father becomes abusively drunk towards his mother. In response, John beats his father with a frying pan, leading his mother to order him out of the house. John then takes refuge in a high-rise flats' machine room, living on stolen supplies while experiencing growing turmoil.

Stripped and disoriented, John sniffs glue and has a hallucination involving Jesus, where he is challenged about his poor life choices. The next morning, his sober father finds him and urges him to return home, requesting him to end his suffering, hinting at John's suicidal thoughts.

John straps two knives to his hands and considers ending his life, but ultimately he leaves his home. He attacks a rival gang member, injuring him, and is chased and beaten by gang members. Eventually, members of his own gang rescue him, but his violence persists.

Faced with ongoing violence and inner turmoil, John decides to leave gang life and return to school, attending a remedial class. He seeks to distance himself from gang conflicts and violence, signaling his desire for change amid his troubled past.

During a school trip to a safari park, the bus breaks down. Believing he has been abandoned with Canta and feeling trapped, John decides to leave the vehicle. The film concludes with John and Canta walking into the distance through a pride of lions, both seemingly finding a space of peace.