The Angels' Share

source: The Angels' Share

As ever Ken Loach's message is loud and clear: breaking the cycle of deprivation needs people to be given chances; recognition of hidden talents; and getting away from an innately conservative and negative society with its habitual violence. At the start you can't see a way out for Robbie. However a meeting with a victim, his idealistic promises to his new son and the generosity of the supervisor of his community work give him just enough impetus to break away, albeit on a new criminal venture to steal some whisky. As a result these 'angels' get a small share from a large cask that would not be missed by the connoisseur buyer. Yet someone spending over £1 million on a cask of whisky could be thought of as a greater crime, and so it is forgivable. The casting is so good there were times when you couldn't believe you were watching actors, most notably in the performance of the mother of his victim and the wine lecturer. Although it is eventually becomes a good "caper" film, much of the film is all too real. This may be because some of the actors were amateurs, playing themselves. As a result the film is gritty and thought-provoking as well as uplifting. What a treasure we have in Ken Loach. I think the sudden expertise in whisky arising from the theft of a few miniatures was a little odd, but you can go along with this as a compression of the timescales. Some people may also wish there were sub-titles, but you can guess what was said most of the time, though I suspect that a version for America would have them.

It has been only my second Ken Loach's film I've seen so far (after his Palme d'Or winner THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY 2006, 7/10), and I'm in no place to expound how different it is from his (usually) politically-sensitive drama pieces, but one sure thing is this time the tonal shift is too prominent to ignore, an uplifting comedy vibrates with youthful restlessness and intersperses with vulgar but rib-tickling gags (inclusively transmitted by the f-words spouting Gary Maitland), the pertinent caricature on the snobbery of pursuing the exorbitant the-best-whiskey-in-the-world (Americans will not be pleased in this paragraph); and what's more precious is that it implements a magnificent positive message to encourage people in misery to seek their own subjective alternative to break out the status quo, which could evoke a universal empathy all over the map. Started with a violent and bleak milieu, Robbie is a young petty criminal who becomes a father for the first time, after narrowly getting away from jail time, he is serving the community service order, the first half of the film is dispatched with many grim gambits with the opponents' retaliative assault, the point-blank confrontation between him and the victim's whole family, the tension between him and his girlfriend and insults from his girlfriend's father. Everyone deserves a second chance, and Robbie knows it may be his last one, after befriends with the community service officer who is a wine epicure, Robbie sees the light of his life from the newly-discovered barrel of an out-of-the-world whiskey, he details a bold plan which may rescue him and his friends from poverty and desperation. From that point, the film leans on a bit rosier rhythm to unravel Robbie's ruse with laughters, suspense and accidents (also kilts) abound. First-time actor Paul Brannigan is quite instrumental in depicting Robbie's unassuming wit, at first, he has a shadowy look with the scar on the face signposts his rebellious nature, the first impression has gradually altered halfway through, when audience realize what is in his mind, the anticipation rockets high and Ken Loach doesn't cringe at simplifying the heist to an even unrealistic scenario (not one single sentinel to guard the million-pounds-baby?), at the core of a refreshing salvation comedy, it is swiftly done, efficient and brisk. 8 out of 10 may be a bit overrated, but I believe one should always have mercy towards comedy genre (especially now, a brilliant one is like gold dust), with Ken Loach at the helm, it would be more reverent!

Wow, Ken Loach's 21st movie (might be more) further deepens his fondness for documentary style movie making in Scotland. As a child I was supremely moved by Kes. My Uncle took me to see it as a 7 year old and it scared me. The anger and bitterness of a Northern life of poverty, dominated by a glowering Brian Glover as the bullying PE teacher and the innocence of the lead character played by David Bradley left me all aquiver. Since then I've followed Loach almost universally. Riff Raff, Raining Stones, My Name is Joe, Carla's Song, Looking for Eric. All brilliant. All gritty, all uncompromising. Looking For Eric raised his box office bar by ingeniously casting Cantona and described as a comedy it had the odd laugh, but was no comedy. And this in some way compares. This man is a national treasure. And, so, to a movie billed as a proper comedy. Well, it is very, very funny. Paul Lavety has made sure of that with a brittle acerbic, cynical script that bowls along spewing expletives faster than you can say "see you next Tuesday". The plot itself is a little fantastical but you can forgive that because the performances are extraordinary, not least by British TV stalwart John Henshaw in a career defining role. In some ways it's Henshaw's movie and the denouement, which features him, is extremely moving. I said it was a bit fantastical but the overall effect is fantastic. At one moment gut wrenchingly violent. The completely believable East end of Glasgow Gang culture that it's set amidst is quite shocking at times, and at others it's laugh out loud especially with its liberal use of top notch gratuitous swearing. Don't take your mother (although my mother had been the week before me and loved it!) This is a great movie. A certainty for award victories and a life affirming way to spend n afternoon or evening in the cinema. 8.5 out of 10.

The first part of this film was to me something that had never been seen before in cinema. We were drawn into the violent world of the Glasgow street thug. We saw the drugs, the mindless violence, the broken lives of the victims and the perpetrators. We saw the destitution of the young people in the worst parts of the city, those without any hope of a future, whose only recourse was to a life of drugs and crime. We saw that a self-centred, uncaring society itself had played a large part in forming these young people and had them under its heel, where there was no escape. We saw the young thug facing his victim and his family in some sort of meeting, as he recounted the terrible frenzied attack where he thought he was going to die. We saw the effect it had on the victim's family. And most touchingly we saw the deep remorse on the thug's face as the victim's mother remonstrated with him about the heartbreak he had created in a moment of madness, and he thought about his own newborn son. And we looked at the broken lives on both sides of the table. I wouldn't have thought it possible to be so moved to compassion over a hood's life until I saw this film. Then there was the friendship and help offered to him by strangers as he tries to reform now he is a father. It would have been wonderful to see this life lifting itself out of the morass of crime and violence into a world of decency. It can and does happen, and what a wonderful heartwarming tale this would have been if that had been the destination of the movie. Such an idea should not be seen as a fairy tale and discarded in favour of 'realism'. We could have seen redemption (it does say it's there on the jacket), we could have seen reconciliation, we could have seen hope. To me the film slipped steadily after the opening scenes and the consummation of the story seems to be 'crime can pay - just be enterprising'. Or 'just one more heist, and then we're through'. Really? The screenplay, acting and direction were brilliant.

Every Ken Loach movie strikes by its accuracy and social realism, same goes for "The Angels' Share". The movie is pleasant and endearing overall. The script relies on a pretty good mix between drama and comedy with well written dialogues. However, the story is in fact quite linear in its unfolding with a few overlong passages, clearly lacking depth and substance. Also, the characters are a bit shallow and under-developed, but still touching and one can easily feel sympathy towards them. Last thing: the cast is outstanding and accurate in their performances, as usual with Loach.

This film is definitely worth seeing. However if you are old enough to remember Trainspotting (1996) there is a chance that you will get this déjà vu feeling watching The Angels' Share, in which people are also desperately trying to escape their unfortunate circumstances. Just to quote the the respective IMDb summaries of the films "Renton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out, despite the allure of the drugs and influence of friends" and "Narrowly avoiding jail, new dad Robbie vows to turn over a new leaf. A visit to a whiskey distillery inspires him and his mates to seek a way out of their hopeless lives". It makes you wonder if things really change so little in Scotland that 16 years later people face exactly the same problems? Or is this film just a remake of an earlier story? Hence, the 5 out of 10 mark, although I did leave the cinema thinking that I wouldn't mind a glass of Scotch and a guided tour of a distillery.

The movie starts out pretty slowly and doesn't really pick up pace before the friends come up with a risky plan to get rich, without spoiling more of the story, that's all I will mention about that. The story told in "The Angels' Share" is about a group of young delinquents who are taken to a whiskey distillery where they concoct a plan that will make them rich. For a comedy then there was surprisingly little to laugh about throughout the course of the movie, which was a shame because it would have spruced up the movie. What worked in "The Angels' Share" was the cast, because they had managed to get some nicely talented actors and actresses. And it was nice to watch a movie with all new faces. There was a good chemistry amongst those on the screen. Another thing that worked well was the colorful and likable characters in the story. I loathe whiskey, so the whole aspect of it being a grand thing with the rare whiskey was lost on me. it all take like charred wood to me. For me, this movie was a mediocre experience, given the lack of comedy, and thus I score it five out of ten stars.

The Angels' Share (2012) A deceptively simple movie that builds slowly and is mixture of outrageous fun and touching social commentary. The main young man, Robbie (Paul Brannigan), has been convicted of a violent crime and is trying to get his life together. His girlfriend is about to have his baby, his old rival is out to get him, and he can't get a job. He also has to do community service, which leads him to the main plot—a growing love of whiskey, a gift with his nose, and an eventual plot to steal some of the rarest of the liquid. It's this last part that dominates the second half of the movie, and it's fun, for sure, but also a little contrived compared to the first half which has a gritty realism to it. Brannigan, and all his supporting actors, is really good. If you don't know Scottish movies, be prepared for some major swearing by everyone. And the Netflix version of the movie has the subtitles on because the accent makes a lot of the movie hard to hear. (I think you'd be better off without them, however, and just get most of it without the distraction of reading.) You might be able to read into the serious parts of the movie and see a valid commentary about the strength of community service, and about the rough life on the streets of Glasgow. But this is more the hard nails backdrop to make the clever, and rather fun (almost joyous) secondary plot shine brighter. It works. The movie pulls it together seamlessly (maybe a hair too seamlessly by the end, as you'll see). So, yes, an enjoyable surprise.

Actually it makes you want to have a sip ... or two. Well at leas that's how the movie did affect me. Don't worry, I could resist the urge to drink alcohol. Seriously though: This is another Ken Loach movie and if you are a fan of watching the movies in their original language, I hope your British English is polished enough to understand what is going on. Let me tell you that movies like that might have really have caused problems, back when I was used the American way of talking. The movie, that is being shown in two versions (15 and 18 rated) in the UK, one having more foul language than the other, is a really great ensemble story. Or as another reviewer wrote: A story with heart ... and a drink or two of course. This drama has some interesting characters to offer and you will root for them, no matter how many flaws you'll see in them :o)