For It Is Man's Number: ken loach

Showing posts with label ken loach. Show all posts

Wednesday, 1 July 2026

Prime Time: Hidden Agenda (1990)

There's always reason to be wary when about to watch a film set during, or around, "The Troubles", which is all I'm going to say about the setting for Hidden Agenda here. But I was comforted when I saw the main cast for this film, and further comforted by seeing it was directed by Ken Loach. That didn't mean it would necessarily be any less difficult to watch, but everything would hopefully be handled with a sensitivity and intelligence that runs through most of Loach's filmography.

Everything begins with the death of an American human rights lawyer in Northern Ireland. There's a reason given for his shooting (by police who apparently believed he was armed and dangerous), but the messiness of the whole thing leads to an investigation headed up by Peter Kerrigan (Brian Cox). Kerrigan wants to remain impartial and fair, and he is on the side of Ingrid Jessner (Frances McDormand), a young woman who was Sullivan's assistant, and suspects foul play. Can the two upset those in power without facing some serious, and potentially deadly, repercussions?

Written by Jim Allen, who worked with Loach on stage and screen many times over the years, Hidden Agenda uses the situation at the heart of the tale to look at those who profit from manipulating things from behind the scenes. It also shows how authorities often make excuses to avoid "playing by the rules", making the most of a turbulent and scary situation to tie up any loose ends and maintain their own, as the title says, hidden agenda. Whether fighting against enemies in our own streets or on a remote battlefield, there are rules that govern such things, even if they seem ridiculous in the face of such brutality and bloodshed, and when those rules aren't adhered to then it can be terrifying to think of just how easily people can have carte blanche to reshape narratives and territories.

Loach does well to tread much more carefully than his protagonist. This isn't about being on one side or the other. It's about trying to see proper justice done in a time when many decided they could act with impunity, considering themselves above the law (whether they were part of the establishment or fighting against it).

Cox is fantastic in his role, as strong-willed and smart as ever, and it's fascinating to watch him try his best to keep his moral compass pointed the right way while so many attempts are made to spin the needle in many different directions. McDormand is also very good, able to play someone in peril without seeming like a helpless "damsel in distress". The fact that she is American helps to make her character feel slightly ill-prepared for the true depth of the waters that she has waded into. Jim Norton is equally good, playing a member of the police force who may or may not know more about the killing than he's letting on, and Maurice Roëves excels as someone with a pivotal role in a piece of evidence that could change the entire nature of the investigation, if it can be corroborated.

This may feel like a bit of a dated snapshot to some nowadays, but I would argue that a number of current events make this just as relevant as ever. You can easily connect the dots from this to the importance of keeping checks and balances on Presidential power, for example, or the many times a "battle against terrorism" has been used to strip away rights and kill huge parts of a civilian population. In many ways, the most quaint thing about this is the fact that those pulling the strings did actually try to hide their agenda. That doesn't happen so much nowadays. People just keep over-reaching, and nobody else seems able or willing to force them back into their established boundaries.

8/10

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Monday, 8 June 2026

Mubi Monday: Kes (1969)

Memory is a very funny thing. I'm sure I have mentioned that before. No, that is not a joke about my own memory. I've always known of Kes, but I had never seen it. It's just always been there, part of British culture that I knew I had to get around to one day. And I expected it to seem a bit dated, a bit rough compared to more modern feature films, but I also somehow remembered it as being such a major work that it made an impact in the mid-1970s, repercussions from it rippling all the way through my childhood. But Kes isn't a mid-1970s work. It debuted in 1969, and was an adaptation of a novel published just one year before, before going on wide release in the first half of 1970. So my memory of Kes, despite having never seen the actual film itself, was already wrong. I did worry when I finally sat down to watch it that I would also be wrong in assuming that it would remain an impactful experience.

That assumption was fine. Kes is quite brilliant, although there have been enough minor changes throughout our society to soften the blow of it slightly. It's the tale of a young boy, Billy Casper (David Bradley), who seems to be killing time at school until he's eventually placed in a harsh and unforgiving manual job that will, if he's lucky, pay him enough to get by and enjoy some time in the local pub. Things change for Billy when he gets himself a kestrel that he aims to train, giving himself something that creates a time out from the continual drudgery of his everyday life. Some may appreciate the fact that he's taking an interest in something, but many may view the development with resentment.

Directed by Ken Loach, who also adapted the book ("A Kestrel For A Knave") with author Barry Hines and Tony Garnett, Kes is absolutely a quintessential Loach movie. He may be credited here as Kenneth Loach, and it may only be his second feature, but this is the typical unflinchingly honest look at people not often given any decent representation in modern cinema. Film is an escape, I get that. It's also equally important that film, like any art, is a mirror held up to society. Loach has held that mirror up for six decades, often showing people reflections that they spend most of their time trying not to notice.

Not every performance here works quite as well as it could, which I suspect is down to Loach aiming for authenticity ahead of everything else, but young Bradley doesn't really put a foot wrong as he portrays a character who manages to be captivating without having to sand off all of his rough edges. Freddie Fletcher is also very good as the older brother, Jud, who can be an idol or a terror, depending on how his day has gone, and you have the brilliance of people like Lynne Perrie, Brian Glover, and Colin Welland filling out the main cast. Astonishingly, this is the first credited film role for all three of those performers, but it's already evident here that they had the potential for greatness ahead of them, particularly a scene-stealing Glover. I would also like to point out one other actor, but am sadly lacking the knowledge of his name. There's one schoolkid who is supposed to take a message to a teacher, ends up being asked to hide cigarettes in his pockets while some other kids are punished, and ends up getting himself in as much trouble as anyone else alongside him. It's a hilarious and infuriating scene, and the young boy plays it brilliantly throughout.

I can see now why Kes endured for so long, and endures now. I thought it was about a boy and his kestrel. It's not. That's just a way to show someone being able to see beyond the life seemingly allowed for them by those in positions of authority. It's about class, it's about an education system that too often works as a placeholder for children being prepared for a thankless life of hard work ahead, and it's about the importance of seizing on even just one, any, opportunity to spark some passion in those who may then be able to strive toward something previously-unseen beyond the classroom walls and industrial work environments surrounding them.

Give it another ten or twenty years and my memory of Kes may be wrong in different ways. I may go back to thinking it's a simple tale of a boy and his kestrel. I hope not though. It's a hard film to watch at times, especially for those who have the personal experience of the working class life, but, like some of the other superb films from Loach, it's a much harder film to forget.

9/10

Monday, 11 September 2023

Mubi Monday: Raining Stones (1993)

While Raining Stones was released thirty years ago, it's yet another film with a plot that could very easily be transposed into the here and now. I wish I said that about more optimistic and happy pictures, but this is a Ken Loach film, which should let you know how far away from optimistic and happy it is. Having said that, however, there IS a silver lining or two glimpsed amidst the many grey clouds that gather above the main character.

Bruce Jones plays Bob, a poor man who just wants a chance to earn enough money to support his family. He has a loving wife, Anne (Julie Brown), and a young daughter, Coleen (Gemma Phoenix), who is in need of a nice, but certainly not cheap, dress for her upcoming First Communion. He also has a friend, Tommy (Ricky Tomlinson), who is also mired in a poverty trap that he's desperate to escape.

Having been familiar with Bruce Jones from his stint on Coronation Street, I forgot that he also starred in a number of movies. I also forgot how good he could be, delivering a brilliant performance here that makes you forget that this is his feature debut (Loach has a knack for getting those performances from his cast). Brown and Phoenix may not be the focus of the film, shown front and centre when endangered by the lengths that Bob goes to in order to get some cash ASAP, but both deliver excellent supporting turns. Tomlinson may provide some comic relief, but he's also asked to deliver the kind of emotional punch that he has been able to deliver throughout his career, whether in dramatic or comedic roles.

Writer Jim Allen had worked with Ken Loach numerous times over the years, collaborating with him on "The Wednesday Play" TV series and a "Play For Today", and this was the second of the three feature films that they created between them (sandwiched between Hidden Agenda in 1990 and Land And Freedom in 1995, Allen's final screenplay). It also feels like the most typical "Loach-ian" of the three, considering what movies come to mind when the director's name is spoken, and this would make a perfect start to a triple-bill that would also include I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You.

The people who had their lives made so much worse by the poor economic situation of the late '80s to mid-'90s are the exact same people who are currently having their lives made so much worse by the poor economic situation right now, and that poverty is created and maintained by a social support system not fit for purpose, communities left to rot while the forgotten/hidden residents bravely struggle to keep their heads above water, and rich people getting richer by exploiting the situation to their advantage. There's not a great different between the bankers making bonuses while claiming homes from people who have fallen on hard times and a loan shark demanding ever-increasing repayment amounts as they inventory a home for any goods worth taking in lieu of cash. The tactics may differ, but the end goal is the same.

A difficult watch (again . . . the fact that it's a Ken Loach film should have already made you aware of that), especially during a horrible and hugely uncomfortable main scene in the third act, but just as moving and relevant as so many other features that make up Loach's extensive filmography.

9/10

Monday, 18 January 2021

Mubi Monday: Poor Cow (1967)

The debut feature film from Ken Loach, Poor Cow is a calling card in line with everything else that he has since added to his filmography. And it has some moments here and there that resonate strongly, especially for anyone who has ended up, even fleetingly, regretting their choice of partner. And who hasn't been in that position?

Carol White plays Joy, a young woman who lives her life seeking simple pleasures, often at the expense of her own wellbeing. She has a child, sees her abusive partner sent to jail after a robbery, and then tries to figure out her best path through life. Well, she tries to figure out how to have some fun, get some money, and be as footloose and fancy free as she can. Which leads her from one bad situation to another, even if she doesn't realise it at the time.

Adapted from the novel by Nell Dunn, who also helped co-write the screenplay with Loach, Poor Cow is a nice balance of the good, the bad, and the ugly. White helps to keep things upbeat and energised, her indefatigable presence perfect for the main role, and there's also a surprising array of pop hits scattered throughout the soundtrack. While Joy is shown to be repeating mistakes throughout her life, there are also times when she's to be admired for simply doing what she thinks needs to be done. That may be for money, it may be for security, it may be for the benefit of her son, but she doesn't rule out many options when she has her mind set on ways to help her immediate future.

As well as White, John Bindon stands out in the role of Tom, the man that Joy ends up with, for better or worse, and Terence Stamp impresses as Dave, a man who treats Joy much better than Tom ever did. Ellis Dale turns up, playing a solicitor, while the rest of the cast is made up of relative unknowns (I certainly cannot recall seeing many people here in other films anyway).

It's perhaps even more interesting to watch Poor Cow nowadays than when it was first released, considering how much of Joy's behaviour may have been judged more harshly back in the 1960s. She's very often portrayed as a girl, and a girl playing happy families until that illusion is shattered, but she's also a woman able to walk through her neighbourhood without being made to bow her head by the others gossiping about her. Perhaps this was always there in the material, viewers figuring out whether Joy is to be pitied or admired, or perhaps it's just an inevitable consequence of watching the film through the filter of modern life. Either way, Poor Cow holds up as a fantastic first film from a director who has been consistently impressive now for over five decades.

8/10

Monday, 27 May 2019

Mubi Monday: The Angels' Share (2012)

Robbie (Paul Brannigan) is a thug when we first see him in The Angels' Share. His criminal history paints an ugly picture, one he can never seem to change due to an ongoing feud and the facial scar that leads to him being pre-judged wherever he goes. He is, however, ready to try and change his life. His girlfriend (Leonie, played by Siobhan Reilly) is due to have their baby, and his latest bout of community service sees him benefiting from the kindness of the driver/supervisor, Harry (John Henshaw). This leads to him, and a few of his fellow criminals, being shown the world of whisky tasting, which leads to them hatching a plan. That plan is based around the idea of the angel's share, a portion of the whisky that is lost from the cask by evaporation.

On the surface, this comedy-drama would seem like an unexpected outing from director Ken Loach, best known for his filmography being practically bursting at the seams with social commentary, especially when it comes to the class divide in the UK. But, working once again with writer Paul Laverty (the pair have been quite the team now for over two decades), it soon becomes apparent that this is exactly the kind of tale that Loach would enjoy telling. It has some big laughs, arguably some of the biggest in any Loach film, but also never strays too far away from the focus on how people often become trapped in bad lives, and how it only takes one or two acts of kindness to sometimes really help turn things around for them. Although everything here is based around whisky, and steeped in the Scottish landscape and language, the scenario faced by the main character is one that many face throughout the UK.

Brannigan is a very likeable lead, even in the scenes that have him violently reacting to the other men who won't let him keep his past in the past, and he's surrounded by a great selection of characters. Henshaw is the agent of change that the younger ones need, treating them with decency and kindness that they don't get from many other people. Reilly is sweet as the woman who wants the best for her family, Jasmin Riggins (billed as Jasmine Riggins) is the light-fingered woman who proves essential to the plan, and William Ruane and Gary Maitland are the other members of the group, with Maitland getting most of the best lines playing a character who is far from the sharpest sgian-dubh in the drawer.

Making good use of his locations, mainly Glasgow but also some moments in Edinburgh and further afield, Loach creates something that, overall, sits very nicely near the top of the pile of many great films that have made the most of Scotland. Those who don't like swearing my wince every now and then, and there's one absolutely disgusting moment that I always forget about until I rewatch the movie, and then it makes me gag again, but most people should find plenty to enjoy here. Even if it is another film to use I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) on the soundtrack.

8/10

You can buy the movie here.
Americans can buy it here.