The Old Oak (Ken Loach, 2023) (Patreon)

An In Review Online extra!

"As is often the case with Loach’s collaborations with screenwriter Paul Laverty, The Old Oak simplifies matters in the name of educational agit-prop. The regulars  at the pub resent the presence of the Syrians, reflexively blaming  immigrants for their own sad plight. Thatcherism decimated this place,  but it is much easier to fixate on the strangers right in front of you.  Chatter in the pub about “giving them a chance” vs. “sending them back where they came from” is rote and predictable, and while one could  certainly make the argument that racism itself is itself rote and  predictable, there’s no denying that The Old Oak is direct to the  point of being formulaic. From the opening scene, with T.J. trying and failing to fix the Old Oak’s outdoor sign, to the fate of his little dog  Marra, Loach’s film offers few surprises."

All told, I did not like this movie, then it sort of rallied a bit, and I came away with a grudging respect. But The Old Oak is, to a large extent, the same film as Jimmy's Hall, which works better on every level. Could it be that leftist historical dramas are/were Loach's true métier, and his contemporary efforts find him flailing to make sense of our neoliberal hellscape?

Also, a final note on my InRO work: I tend to have short turnaround times, and as a result there are infelicitous bits of writing in a lot of them. Repeated phrases, errors of tense, etc. I will try to be more careful, as I don't want to Damage the Brand.