Is this why it went straight-to-TV?
Not a great film this. In fact, it's the worst Ken Loach film he's ever made. This by no means suggests it's awful; it isn't. Loachie has, after all, directed half a dozen out-and-out masterpieces ('Sweet Sixteen,' 'Raining Stones,' 'Ladybird Ladybird' etc) and doesn't appear to know HOW to make a 'bad' film but this one seemed a little sloppy. It also lacked the trademark humour of so many of Loachies' previous movies and the unsubtle moments when a point is trying to be made a little TOO clearly (this also happens in 'The Navigators') didn't help matters.
Perhaps the most significant problem I had with the film was how so many of the scenes failed to ring completely true. Whereas Loachie has made a name for his trademark realism and documentary style techniques, a number of the sequences - particularly those featuring Angie and the arguing immigrants - didn't feel or look believable. Perhaps it was partially the character of Angie herself; her behaviour throughout the movie bordered on the strange and erratic; yes, whilst we're meant to have a love-hate relationship with her, her decision to jump into bed with a Polish immigrant she barely knew was hardly representative of the hard-nosed, independent female we were introduced to at the very start of the movie. She later decides to invite a couple of the workers back to the flat for some apparent 'fun and games' which could have perhaps been an interesting opportunity for Loach to have explored the dangers of Angie and co becoming personally involved with her workers. No such luck; the film cut away to a new day and a new event and we never got to learn what - if anything - had actually happened. As the story itself unfolded, things also became more and more confused, with no actual explanation ever offered as to why the building contractor was actually unable to pay Angie. He got beaten up himself, yes...but why? The scene in which Angie later makes a telephone call to the ‘immigration people’ was also baffling and unbelievable; not only did Angie JUST HAPPEN to have their number on her mobile phone but I loved the way the person who answered took all the details as Angie gave them! Whilst I know very little about immigration procedures, I can personally guarantee viewers that Angie’s threat to “go to the press in 24 hours if something isn’t done” would hardly have had immigration officers quivering in their boots!
The acting. There were some dreadful moments in this department too. The most guilty moment, for me anyway, had to be the scene in which the Iranian family 'tell their stories' at Angie's dinner table. Did it sound like it was being read off a script or what? In fact, it also SOUNDED blatantly scripted and this made it even worse. I even thought someone was going to hand the husband a cue card at one point. Dreadful. To be fair, most of the other performances were, for the most part, pretty good, although it was never a strong point of the movie.
Interestingly, the film's message seemed a slightly confused one, offering no easy answers about the plights of both legal and illegal people seeking work and a new life in The UK and, in fact, this I rather liked. However, the confused and slightly jarring way in which the events unfolded; the dodgy script and performances and a complete and total lack of humour and empathy make this a disappointment for Mr Loach. I expect a rapid return to form next year because the man's still a legend and the best Britain has.