Loach shows humor, insight in 'Angel's Share'
Ken Loach’s “The Angel’s Share’’ combines humor with biting social commentary. / Courtesy of T.Cast
By Yun Suh-young
Each person has several moments in life that alter their mind and behavior irrevocably. Becoming a parent is usually one of these.
Attempting to authentically depict a man struggling to find a job and support a new family, celebrated British filmmaker Ken Loach decided to use Paul Brannigan, a non-professional actor, as the main protagonist, Robbie, in his 2012 film, ``The Angel’s Share,’’ and the end result is brilliant.
Loach’s body of work has always been defined by social realism. And the essence of realism is a person’s inability to overcome their environment and their struggles to adjust to it.
In ``The Angel’s Share,’’ which is eyeing its belated Korean release, it sometimes seems that Brannigan isn’t acting as much as merely existing in a situation created for him by Loach. There are several elements in the movie that suggest Loach was borrowing heavily from Brannigan’s personal experience, which obviously made the first-time actor the most effective vehicle through which to convey this.
Robbie, previously convicted of drug abuse and physical violence, narrowly dodges a custodial sentence for his latest offense because his girlfriend, Leonie, is now pregnant. The judge, hoping that fatherhood will mature him, puts him into 300 hours of community service instead.
While doing his duty, Robbie struggles to support Leonie and their baby. He also has to deal with Leonie’s hot-headed father, who doesn’t approve of him and threatens him to move out of town and leave her daughter and grandchild alone. Robbie’s journey toward redemption is rocky because his criminal record and knife-inflicted scar repel would-be-employers.
Loach, always driven by socialist passion, uses Robbie to illustrate Britain’s wider problem of youth unemployment, which as in Korea, is fueling talks about an entire generation lost to joblessness. The director’s sense of humor allows him to portray his social commentary instead of administering it.
As the title gives away, Robbie finds his salvation in whisky. It is social worker Harry (John Henshaw) who introduces Robbie into the world of whisky, and his passion for discerning whisky is further strengthened on a whisky-tasting trip to Edinburgh.
But Loach avoids a predictable, feel-good-ending and humorously converts the family drama into a heist film involving precious drops. An ``angel’s share’’ refers to the 2 percent of the whisky that evaporates from the cask every year. There is no better way to describe a person like Robbie in the context of an increasingly dysfunctional society.
4/5 stars
Release date: May 16
Directed by Ken Loach
Produced by Rebecca O'Brien
Written by Paul Laverty
106 minutes long. 15 and over