Across the divide: Bar owner TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner) extends a hand of friendship to young Yara (Ebla Mari) and her family in The Old Oak. Photo / Supplied
Across the divide: Bar owner TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner) extends a hand of friendship to young Yara (Ebla Mari) and her family in The Old Oak. Photo / Supplied
In his latest (and likely last) film, 87-year-old British social realist director Ken Loach ticks refugees and dwindling mining communities off a long list of the country’s ills.
The Old Oak portrays a small North of England former mining town beset by plummeting house prices and failing businesses, which suddenlybecomes the new home for a group of Syrian refugees.
While the disgruntled locals cast withering looks and racist comments across their pints (someone says “for fook’s sake,” at least once a scene), at the pub of the title, bar owner TJ Ballantyne (recent Loach regular Dave Turner) extends a hand of friendship to young Yara (Ebla Mari) and her family. He and a few like-minded neighbours start up a dinner to bring the community together with their non-English speaking neighbours.
But TJ’s generosity of spirit isn’t shared by those who have been propping up the bar for 40 years. “She marched in here like she owns the place! What next?” one exclaims. “Building a mosque,” is the muttered reply.
Many of the cast are non-actors performing alongside Syrian refugees. Naturally, this lends the sense of verité expected of a Loach movie, but this story, while well-meaning and occasionally touching, lacks the compelling performances seen in his I, Daniel Blake and Sorry We Missed You of which this acts as a closing chapter to a trilogy of films set in Northern England.
The refugee crisis worldwide makes this a timely topic, and Loach admirably gives voice to multiple perspectives, avoiding making his message too polemic. But the mechanisms used to bring these disparate cultures together in harmony feel a bit trite.
