After the premiere of Moonrise Kingdom, the competition films took a dark turn. First the love story between the paraplegic and the homeless fighter, then the dying love story of a couple dealing with a stroke. Lawless provides no relief with its graphic and violent prohibition film, and neither were the dark accusations in The Hunt. Just as I was about to bring Xanax to the next premier, along comes The Angel's Share, Ken Loach's uplifting but grounded answer to the competition films increasingly depressing subject matter. While it does deal with some heavy subjects such as gangs and violent crime, it balances these issues with a sense of humor. A movie about dogged stubbornness an second chances, Loach proves that a movie doesn't have to lower your spirits to earn your admiration.
Introductions of the cast begin as they each stand before a judge and plead their case, each guilty of a different crime. Especially desperate in his pleading is Robbie, played by Paul Brannigan, who despite his history of violence wants to start fresh for his unborn son. Sentenced to 300 hours of community service, he meets a burly but sensitive Harry, played by John Hennshaw. Harry's job chaperoning the convicts' service hours expands when Robbie's girlfriend goes into labor and he offers to drive him to the hospital. While waiting to see his new baby, his girlfriend's disapproving uncles take him into a back staircase and beat him to a pulp. Seeing the hard life that Robbie leads and how desperate he is to break the cycle, Harry takes pity and invites Robbie to stay with him for a while. This will be the first of several second chances that Robbie recieves. Harry also has the idea to take Robbie and the other convicts to tour a local distillery. Here, Robbie discovers he has an expert ability to dissect the favors of liquor and soon finds another second chance. When a very old cask of whiskey, worth almost a million pounds, is found and sent to auction, Robbie takes a risk and takes luck into his own hands as he and his fellow convicts attempt to steal and sell bottles of the luxurious whiskey.
No stranger to the Cannes film festival, Ken Loach's hilarious and touching film about second chances breaks the mold and gives the competition a breath of fresh air. The realistic but not indulgently gritty portrayal of the vicious cycle of crime gives humanity to Robbie's story. Robbie's life, much like the whiskey he is so in tune with, echoes the life of a bottle of whiskey. The liquor is made from material that was once used for another purpose. After it is put through a long and arduous cooking process, it is given a second life as a fine liquor. This process serves as a beautiful yet quirky metaphor for Robbie's life, which has certainly been a process, but one that results in a new life and a second chance.
Though it is sometimes a tragic story, humor can always be found, much like in life. Alone at a train station, the film opens with a drunk man arguing with the train station employee over the intercom who is trying to tell him to back away from the edge of the platform. Though he is speaking English, his accent is so heavy that there are English subtitles underneath, an aspect that makes the exchange all the more hilarious. The tone for the movie is set when the man misunderstands the employee's directions and instead falls onto the tracks, as the theater roars with laughter. Though not jovial the entire time, moments of seriousness are punctuated with elements of humor, keeping the story light and accessible.
Through no fault of the actors, the script does not allow for many dynamic roles. Robbie has already had his life changing event and realizes he must change his ways. Unfortunately for Paul Brannigan, this does not give him a lot of room to play with the character of Robbie. He has to resort to two speeds; cool ambition and animal like aggression. The roles of the convicts are especially sparse and resort to extreme archetypes. Their crimes appear to be a result of their character and not their situation in life. Unlike Robbie, their struggles are rarely acknowledged. Instead, they are jesters and used for comic relief. While Robbie's criminal friends are not lacking in humanity, a little more depth would give them a greater purpose and effect in the film.
The Angel's Share is a valentine to second chances. Though he yearns to change his ways, the circumstances of his life, his criminal record, gang vendettas, and loathing from his in-laws prevents him from starting fresh. A new outlook on life propels him to take fate into his own hands, with a little help from Harry and the liquor that he has so much in common with.
Directed by Ken Loach; Written by Paul Laverty ; Produced by Rebecca O'Brian; With Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, William Ruane, Gary Maitlant, Jasmin Riggins, Siobhan Reilly, Roger Allam; Run time 101 minutes.
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