Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
A middle aged carpenter, who requires state welfare after injuring himself, is joined by a single mother in a similar scenario.
Ken Loach's social realist drama is anchored by Dave Johns and Hayley Squires delivering raw, deeply human performances that elevate what could be a polemic into something genuinely moving. The plot is deliberately simple and episodic, serving as an unflinching indictment of bureaucratic cruelty rather than a conventionally structured narrative. Loach's direction is characteristically unshowy — naturalistic and restrained — which suits the material but doesn't distinguish itself cinematographically. The subject matter and approach follow Loach's established social realist template, making it less novel than singular in its sustained moral clarity. The ending, however, is devastating and earned, landing with quiet but profound force.