An unemployed woman decides to start up an illegal immigrant agency in order to get rich quick and support her young son, Jamie. She isn't worried about being caught because Home Office punishments for being gangmasters appear to be minor, and soon the money starts rolling in. Unfortunately, one of her financial backers pulls out, and she is left with a lot of angry Eastern European workers who haven't gotten paid. Pretty soon things start to get out of hand...
What we have here is a character study of a young woman who initially does things by the book, but soon greed and desperation turn her into a heartless bitch... exploiting the poor foreigners at every turn. She even has a relationship with a Polish guy, until circumstances dictate that they can never see each other again. Her son has broken someone's jaw at school and is likely to get suspended, she argues consistently with her mother as to how he should be raised, her father is a bigot who reckons that that these cheap labourers who come from aboard are stealing occupations from the common British man... It's not hard to see why she's driven to despair.
All the ingredients would seem to be correct and present for an absorbing drama. Alas, someone seems to have got the recipe wrong, and the end result is a thoroughly unbelievable tale which is far too soap opera. The main character's transition from caring, loving mother to bully of the downtrodden is too sudden by half, and the underwritten script is easy to predict from start to finish. Plus, the climax almost made me laugh out loud in it's ridiculousness and implausibility. I won't spoil things for you, but let me ask you this: If you were out and about in a busy town with criminals lurking around every corner, would you REALLY leave your front door wide open while you looked for your missing son outside? With 10k in one of your drawers? Wouldn't you kind of suspect SOMEONE may gain entry while you're gone? Yes, very sensible this young lady is.
I cannot fault the acting, which is very naturalistic considering most of the cast are complete amateurs. Kierston Wareing is excellent as the blonde 34 year old heroine, accurately displaying the main character's split personality with such professionalism you'd think she'd been studying the art for years. Julie Ellis is good too, as the partner in crime to our protagonist who soon realises they are way out of their depth in the business they're in. I also like the camera-work, which portrays the action in a atmospheric way without moving about so much you feel seasick, and the lack of music, which is also laudable as it allows us to judge the film's mood for ourselves without feeling we're being manipulated. Sadly, all these pluses pale in comparison to the stale plot, and the entirely obvious way it will unfold. Not to mention the overblown events of the finale.
Sorry, Mr Loach, I respect you greatly but you can do a LOT better than this. Only a 5/10 I am afraid...
What we have here is a character study of a young woman who initially does things by the book, but soon greed and desperation turn her into a heartless bitch... exploiting the poor foreigners at every turn. She even has a relationship with a Polish guy, until circumstances dictate that they can never see each other again. Her son has broken someone's jaw at school and is likely to get suspended, she argues consistently with her mother as to how he should be raised, her father is a bigot who reckons that that these cheap labourers who come from aboard are stealing occupations from the common British man... It's not hard to see why she's driven to despair.
All the ingredients would seem to be correct and present for an absorbing drama. Alas, someone seems to have got the recipe wrong, and the end result is a thoroughly unbelievable tale which is far too soap opera. The main character's transition from caring, loving mother to bully of the downtrodden is too sudden by half, and the underwritten script is easy to predict from start to finish. Plus, the climax almost made me laugh out loud in it's ridiculousness and implausibility. I won't spoil things for you, but let me ask you this: If you were out and about in a busy town with criminals lurking around every corner, would you REALLY leave your front door wide open while you looked for your missing son outside? With 10k in one of your drawers? Wouldn't you kind of suspect SOMEONE may gain entry while you're gone? Yes, very sensible this young lady is.
I cannot fault the acting, which is very naturalistic considering most of the cast are complete amateurs. Kierston Wareing is excellent as the blonde 34 year old heroine, accurately displaying the main character's split personality with such professionalism you'd think she'd been studying the art for years. Julie Ellis is good too, as the partner in crime to our protagonist who soon realises they are way out of their depth in the business they're in. I also like the camera-work, which portrays the action in a atmospheric way without moving about so much you feel seasick, and the lack of music, which is also laudable as it allows us to judge the film's mood for ourselves without feeling we're being manipulated. Sadly, all these pluses pale in comparison to the stale plot, and the entirely obvious way it will unfold. Not to mention the overblown events of the finale.
Sorry, Mr Loach, I respect you greatly but you can do a LOT better than this. Only a 5/10 I am afraid...