Qwerty Norris
Posts: 3156
Joined: 26/10/2005
From: Edinburgh
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A real crowd-pleaser of a film which despite suffering from the odd plot contrivance (our protagonist is spared the prospect of a ned ambush thanks to a conveniently timed vehicle intervention by his other half's father), it ultimately succeeds because of Loach's masterful quality in delivering characters & performances you completely believe in & emphasise with. In some ways, it shares a lot with the Dardennes' The Kid With A Bike in the sense of a troubled young individual being dragged back from the clutches of society's edge thanks to the guidance of the right people, yet it also carries a comedic tone that few films designed for belly laughs have managed to achieve this year. The moments of light relief though are earned because of the grounding of social realism that the legendary Brit film-maker does so well in all his films time & time again - with the backdrop of disaffected youth & the lack of prosperity in post credit crunch Britain being the most overwhelming factor. It also never attempts to soften the hard-edges of our main protagonist's past despite his journey towards redemption (of sorts), which in particular is expertly realised in a harrowing scene involving a chilling recollection of one of his previous crimes by the unfortunate victim. A funny, emotional & uplifting drama that is probably one of the more satisfying pieces with a Scottish setting in recent years. It's also Loach's most commercially accessible film in quite some time.
4/5
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Qwerty's Top 10 of 2013 (so far)
1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. No
3. A Hijacking
4. In The Fog
5. Good Vibrations
6. McCullin
7. Beyond the Hills
8. The Place Beyond the Pines
9. Wreck-it Ralph
10. Shell
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