The Angels' Share
Dir: Ken Loach
2012
***
The Angels' Share starts off as gritty drama and ends in feelgood light comedy. I like the story and I like the meaning of what the Angels' Share is (when whiskey is distilled in barrels, a volume of the spirit evaporates and is called the Angels' Share) but for a Ken Loach film I did expect more. It's fairly unbalanced, a little contradictory and a little too whimsical given the films opening brutal scenes. I still enjoyed it, I just felt Ken Loach compromised somehow rather than stood out like his more recent work. The social realism is somewhat upset by this jaunty overtone and somehow the conclusion doesn't really convince me of the redemption the story is trying to portray. It's diet Loach with plenty of sweetener.