6/10
If you're the son of someone famous and follow in their footsteps, then you have to suffer the inevitable comparisons with a well known father. But judging by this film, Jim Loach (son of Ken) can stand perfectly well on his own two feet.
Twenty five years ago, a social worker in Nottingham called Margaret Humphreys (Emily Watson) stumbled across some information that surprised her. It appeared that for many years, the British government had been sending children in care abroad, to Australia among other places, even when their parents were still alive. The authorities had told the parents that their children had been adopted, while informing the children that their parents were dead. It was an accidental encounter with a woman from Australia trying to trace her mother that led to this revelation, and inspired Humphreys to start the work of reconnecting parents and children that she still continues today (although the actual movement of children ceased in 1970).
This subject matter is not a million miles away from what Ken might deal with, but the treatment is different. The film has a softer feel to it, and lacks any overt political edge or condemnation (though the criticism of the two governments involved is implicit). And whereas older Loach usually casts unknowns in leading roles, junior has gone for better established names, and with some success. I suspect he is aiming for a more mainstream audience. Watson is certainly the perfect choice to play Margaret Humphreys. She has a a face that conveys vulnerability, strength,determination and tenderness with equal ease, and without seeming to try too hard. She also knows how to look like a real person. Hugo Weaving and David Wenham are excellent as two of the men whose cases she takes on and it's nice to see Tara Morice who played Fran in Strictly Ballroom.
The film is far from perfect, mainly because this kind of story is hard to script in a way that feels authentic, while remaining neither rushed nor slow moving. There are moments and lines that simply don't sound credible, and I'm willing to bet that those are taken from real life, since I imagine that the film makers were trying to be as close to the original as possible. But often real life doesn't work when transposed to the big screen. More to the point, however, this is a moving story, certainly as far as I am concerned, because anything to do with parent/child relationships chokes me up, but also because it is a shocking case of neglect, brutality and callousness. (The reason for these forced deportations was a question of saving money. What else?). Given the relative scarcity of any quality films over the next few weeks, then I'd encourage you to make the effort to go and see this.
