The Angels' Share

Back in 1966 Ken Loach's calling card, Cathy Come Home, was a portrayal of the working-class and the hardships they live under. Over the ensuing 45 years since that landmark production he's rarely ventured from that template and his new film, The Angels' Share, is no exception. This won the Jury Prize at Cannes 2012 (Loach has always been a darling of that festival), but is it really that great? The story line concerns Robbie (Paul Brannigan), a young father who narrowly avoids a prison sentence, and a number of other peeps who end up doing community service instead of stir. Kind hearted community leader Harry (John Henshaw) decides to take the gang on a trip to a distillery where Robbie and cohorts show some hitherto skill in whisky tasting. Is this the chance for the gang to put past misdemeanours behind them and start afresh in life? Yes and no. As with all Loach films the biggest problem for the audience is how much sympathy you have with the protagonists. Loach doesn't apologise or give an excuse for a shocking act of violence by Robbie at the start of the film and the overall screenplay basically condones any further crime that Robbie and his friends commit. Loach's politics are well documented and here, once again, he's saying "There, but for the grace of God, goes you". Whether you agree or not could make or break this film for you. Though Loach always strives for social realism whenever he can, Robbie and his clan are all a bit too caricatured here (there's the smart one, the dumb one etc). This does lead to many laughs though, virtually all of the black variety, with the opening scene of a train station announcer trying to get a drunk off the tracks pretty much summing it up. The young unknown Scottish cast are all decent enough (though you'll need subtitles at some points to get past the accents), but it's the veteran actors who shine out, especially the excellent Henshaw. This is quite a dark film, but it does have moments of sunlight that shine through and only the stoniest of hearts won't have cracked by the end when Harry receives an unexpected gift from Robbie. This won't convert anyone who finds Loach too preachy or his direction too minimalist, but there aren't many directors around who, as in this film, can make the entire audience gasp in shock at something as simple as the act of saying "Cheers" to someone.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
This is standard Loach, but if he's not making films like this anymore who else will? Rating: 7/10.