A good movie

To be honest, I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this flick but since it was Ken Loach's directorial debut and since it was available on Netflix, I was quite eager to check it out. I have to admit that I had no idea what this movie was about before watching the damned thing. Anyway, eventually, it was pretty neat that, instead of focusing on the life of a small-time burglar, they told the story of the wife of such a thief which was a really neat approach. In fact, this marriage didn't last for long and, from the moment that her husband in jail ended, she then started a relationship with another thief which was provably not the best move but the fact this woman was flawed made her in fact even more interesting. I think this movie also gave a good idea how limited the options were for women at the time. Nowadays, people complain that so many marriages end in a divorce but, as correctly displayed in this movie, couples back then did stay together, not by choice, but above all because it was so complicated and socially not accepted to get out of a toxic or failed relationship. So, the material was definitely intriguing but, to be honest, it was pretty obvious that it was Loach's first movie and his directing was not really steady at the time, especially if you would compare it to his later work. Sure, you might argue that it was an artistic choice but the end-result was rather messy and disjointed. Still, Loach, at the beginning of his career, was already so good at displaying such a grey barren and convincing portrait of the British working class. Anyway, to conclude, even though it was definitely not one of his best movies, it was still an interesting debut and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Ken Loach's work.

7/10