‘The Old Oak Review: Ken Loachs Drama Shines A Vital Light On WorkingClass British Racism Until It Succumbs To SoftHearted WishFulfillment
Tommy Joe Ballantyne (Dave Turner), the protagonist of Ken Loach's novel Old Oak, is a middle-aged landlord of a public house at the end of a steep street of working-class housing. We're in an unnamed town in the North East of England and a pub called The Old Oak has seen better days. Also known as Tommy, TJ. Dave Turner, the excellent actor who plays him, looks like a tired cross between John C. Reilly and Michael Moore. His grim, businesslike look is polite, and he treats his customers, some of whom he's known since school, with quiet affection and respect. But the bar is crumbling and real estate prices in the area have plummeted. TJ scratches a lot, delivering gallons of bile.
I met a bartender in an Irish bar named Tommy, the sweetest man on earth in Boston, but when you look into his eyes, you see the sadness hidden behind a dark Irish fog that seems to be hidden behind the lies of his generation. At least TJ goes back to his father, who was a miner like everyone else in town; It was the same with TJ. The miners did their part in the mine, but they had each other and had a union. The fact that they have been able to strike since the 1969 major strike made them feel a sense of solidarity even though the struggle against the leadership did not go as expected. But now that the mines are closed and the mining economy is collapsing, the people in TJ's Bar are living in a smokestack. They still come for a 'friendly' pint, but it's not as 'fun' as the place is a mockery. And they're unhappy, partly because it's the last sense of community they've left behind - and it's taken away by refugees who move into nearby hostels.
More of the difference
The film opens with Yara (Ebla Marie) arriving from Syria with her family, taking pictures from a bus - we see black and white photos of her taking pictures - then her camera is stolen and destroyed by a racist thug. . Frustrated with this, TJ offers some older rear view cameras. Also, the reason they start talking is because they are trapped in an inner sadness. Yara is alive and well, but she, her mother, and her sisters fled the Assad regime; It is said that her father was killed by her. We hear stories like this all the time, but the actress who plays Yara, Ebla Marie, makes Yara feel threatened by her missing and possibly murdered father and the threat of leaving her country, wonderfully and perfectly. His actions do not allow us to be captivated by our emotions.
TJ treats Yara and her family much better than his bar buddies, and at some point that distinction becomes a line in the sand. Ordinary residents want to hold a town meeting to express their anger at the influx of refugees; Desperate, they ask TJ if he'll open up the back of the bar, a derelict ruin that's been closed for decades. TOMMY No, this place is not safe. But he lies. The main reason is that he does not want to hold an anti-immigrant demonstration. And his old friends know him; You can read it. He left them to join their cause with their eyes.
Why is Tommy so nice and liberal? This is based on his past partnership and long relationship with Laura (Claire Rogerson), an idealistic family friend. But Loach has done little to shake off TJ's broken past: a divorce, a son he won't talk to, a father who died in an accident two years ago, and a puppy named Marra who was spotted on the beach. Just like TJ was getting ready to jump in and out of the water. TG, in theory, is not holy. That's all.
Seven years ago, Loach, now 86, was at Cannes with I Daniel Blake, a deeply emotional and true drama about the collapse of Britain's welfare system and a dying man. He received the Palme d'Or in 2006 (Loch's second for The Wind That Shakes the Grass in 2006). There is speculation that the story of the old Oak, who tries to do the right thing when his friends around him are overcome by hatred, may give Locke a third hand. But if he did, it was for the wrong reasons.
"Old Oak" starts strong. This creates a conflicting society and a shocking conflict between TJ and his friends. When TJ decides to open a back room to host a community dinner that brings together long-time locals and some newly arrived Syrian families, it becomes clear that TJ has decided to leave behind prejudice. Loach, to his credit, plays on the bar crowd's intolerance for humanity. These downtrodden workers who have been disillusioned by the system are always the people of Loch; He never lost his feelings for them. But now more oppressed people discover that they are oppressed, and Loach captures the despicable - and tragic - in this dynamic.
But Locke and screenwriter Paul Laverty didn't bring the conflict to an end. The film notes that the common people in Old Oak are not white supremacists. I yelled at Yara's brother, "Dirty little brat!" (In the 1980s, it was hard to imagine that the racial slur "Paki" could sound more ugly. Hearing this applies to non-Pakistani people. - In hair, this is still a bad thing. You can't just wish it away. And Old Oak , after TJ's excellent skirmish setup, does just that.
Something bad (and very symbolic) is happening to TJ's beloved dog. and crushing. It also encourages. I buy his coin, but what I don't buy is how society is changing. Anger, raw and destructive, melts away. The old solidarity of the miners has been transformed into a new cultural unity. These conflicts are very easy to solve. "Old Oak" will find you - in time. Turner and Marie's performances have pain and soul. But this is the last film that turned into a progressive story of Kumbay. Old Oak wants to melt our hearts, but for all its leech-based strength, it's ultimately mellow.
The best kind
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