by Katia Hiver
This is a political film. This is a social film. This is a Cannes film (Jury Prize). But all these facts shouldn’t put you off, because, most importantly : this is a film with a narrative that manages to subtly combine everything into a heartwarming and comic story.
When I first heard that the director, Ken Loach, was 76 (at that time in 2012), I expected the film to be about a series of frustrations of the past and the pessimist aspects of life. But once again I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the movie was actually about the problems that the Scottish youth encounters, but all this, on a heartening and slightly uplifting tone. For myself, I had absolute no knowledge about this issue, but still I could relate to a certain degree because Romania (the country where I’m from), also has its own series of problems with its youth.
The main characters are firstly introduced to us when they plead guilty at the Glasgow City Court for a variety of crimes. If Mo (Jasmin Riggins), Albert (Gary Maitland) and Rhino’s (William Ruane) minor crimes have a comic approach to them and don’t seem that serious, everything changes when Robbie’s (Paul Brannigan) violent crime towards a young man is presented. We learn that won’t go to prison because his girlfriend is pregnant with their 8-month-old baby. We understand that he’s going to be the protagonist of the story. All the characters find themselves together when they meet for community service, where Harry (John Henshaw) is in charge of them. Several dynamics start developing : between Harry and Robbie (who bond throughout the birth of the baby and by sharing a glass of whisky together), between Robbie and his violent past (form which it is hard to get away) and between all the characters and their struggle of unemployment. Harry is the way out from their present unsatisfying lives.
And so the magic happens : Robbie finds out during a visit at a whiskey distillery that he has ‘a good nose for it’. The film surprises (yet again !) by taking another dynamic when the 4 find out that there will be an auction of a very fine whisky in the Highlands and plan to steal a part fo it.
Accompanied by the famous music of The Proclaimers, the 4 would-be criminals disguised in traditional kilts start their journey. At this point I didn’t know anymore what was going to happen : could they really steal one of the most precious whiskey’s in the world ? The tense and funny journey make us wonder what could be possibly happening next, laugh at the ignorant aspect of today’s society (throughout the 2 men that want to buy the famous whisky) and admire Scotland’s beautiful landscapes.
The heist ends well and Robbie gets a secure job away from his past problems. But how happy is the ending ? Ken Loach leaves us with something to think about : sure, Robbie, the protagonist, gets out but the rest of his friends remain in the city. Sure, they have more money but their life hasn’t improved ; still undecided and without any plans for their future, they go for drinks.
Lastly, we see the importance of Harry in the story. He is portrayed as a father figure that helps and cares about every one of the characters. Loach shows him as an angel who also gets his share of the heist in the end. It makes us think that, maybe, we all need to be a bit more like Harry.
For now, I have really been focusing on the story and how it interacted with ourselves, as it is a social film. From a cinematic point of view, the most striking element of this movie is the way the shots seem real and surprising life itself. Yes, the clothes may not be matching the other decorative elements or have this sort of arranged beauty … but from the fist seconds of the movie the public has the impression to be in the film, in the story and seem to know the characters (or at least be familiar to the feelings portrayed by them). Ken Loach captures the ‘real’ even with this improbable story (and that has to be applauded).
This movie is for every person that wants to have a good laugh, care about some characters (whom you definitely seem to have them seen somewhere) while also think about the social hardships of the youth nowadays. A must-watch for me !
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