Ken Loach is one of our most consistently brilliant directors. But, now aged 87, he has spoken about The Old Oak probably being his final film. He has teamed up again with screenwriter Paul Laverty for this story of a landlord in an old mining community who struggles to hold onto his pub amidst the depravation of the residents. Meanwhile, tensions rise in the town when Syrian refugees are placed in the empty houses in the community.
This feels very much as a final part of a trilogy documenting how working class people have been abandoned, along with ‘I, Daniel Blake’ and ‘Sorry I Missed You’. This has the most complex story of those three as it addresses the plight of refugees fleeing a war zone and it confronts the endemic racism in much of British society.
Loach famously uses inexperienced or non-professional actors and that does show at times with some of the line deliveries. However, Dave Turner as the pub landlord TJ Ballantyne and especially Ebla Mari as Yara, the refugee he befriends are excellent.
This is a heart wrenching and impassioned film that I am sure that our current home secretary would watch with glee (not that she would watch a film directed by the vocal socialist Loach) at the hostile environment that is created for the outsiders. Anyone with a heart will be deeply moved.
‘Raining Stones’ and ‘Hidden Agenda’ remain Loach’s two great masterpieces in my opinion, but The Old Oak ranks alongside his massively impressive body of work.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10