THE OLD OAK 15

Force Ken…

‘You know, I really liked the one about the kestrel…’

★★★★★ OUT 29 SEPTEMBER CINEMAS

Ken Loach’s latest, and quite likely last, feature film starts with a jolt. ‘Ya fucking rag-heads – you shot my mate in Iraq!’ yells a man as a coachload of Syrian refugees arrives in a run-down town in England’s North East. Within minutes, budding photographer Yara (Ebla Mari) has seen her camera smashed by a lout wearing a Newcastle F.C. strip. As the veteran firebrand filmmaker returns to the region that hosted his last two films – I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You – he again aims both barrels at the Westminster politicians who turn their backs on the plight of the struggling.

Dave Turner stars as T.J. Ballantyne, the owner of the eponymous pub, an establishment so dilapidated that the ‘K’ from Oak is hanging off the sign outside. The loose consonant is a perfect symbol of this neglected area, a former mining community all but abandoned by the government. Over their pints, embittered locals mutter about how the refugees are devaluing residents’ properties. ‘This has now become a dumping ground,’ says one, as the boozy regulars petition T.J. to use his backroom to hold a meeting where they can discuss what to do. ‘I say nowt – just keep me mouth shut,’ T.J. admits.

While T.J. has long since stopped helping kids in the community, the despondent landlord comes to realise he can’t allow this racist chatter to brew in his pub, especially when he meets Yara and helps fix her camera. Scripted by Loach regular Paul Laverty, the second half of The Old Oak is a rallying cry, in which T.J. resolves to open up that backroom to help feed the community. ‘This is solidarity, it’s not charity,’ he says, a phrase that resonates through both this film and much of Loach’s work. But some locals (including T.J.’s former classmate, played by Trevor Fox) resent his open-heartedness.

With a script that earns its emotional payoff, this is one of Loach’s most generous, humble films. True, not all the acting is top-notch – some performances from the supports feel amateurish. Laverty also tries to pluck one too many heartstrings (refugees, poverty, suicide and even cruelty to dogs feature). So don’t expect subtle. But do expect the Loach-Laverty partnership to deliver one more time. There’s no other filmmaking duo like them.

THE VERDICT If this is to be Loach’s swansong, then he goes out on a quietly moving high. The anger still burns fiercely.