The story is another in a long line of collaborations with screenwriter Paul Laverty and this bittersweet comedy about a group of young Scots lads who pull a highly inept heist is more whimsical that most Loach films while still underpinned by the director's trademark social realist values and style.  The light-hearted touch makes for entertaining viewing while still addressing the issues of long term unemployment, despair and the breakdown of social values.

Robbie is a young unemployed offender from Glasgow with a history of violence and a background of family problems.  But he is about to become a father and he is determined to go straight after a local judge gives him another chance with a sentence of community service rather than incarceration.   Robbie is assigned to community service officer Harry together with fellow offenders Rhino, Albert and Mo.   Harry has one great passion in life and this is fine whisky and he forms a bond with Robbie who wants to go straight.

Harry takes his young charges on a tour of a distillery and a whisky tasting trip to Edinburgh during which Robbie discovers he has a natural talent.  He has a nose of fine whisky. 

The film invites us on a charming tour of Scotland and the history of whisky where we and the boys learn that the "angel's share" is the 2% of the whisky that evaporates naturally in the barrel. 

Robbie and his mates form a plan to steal a portion of extremely valuable old Highland whisky that is being auctioned in order to give Robbie a stake for his future life.  The sometimes slapstick adventures that follow give rise to both laughter and tears.

Speaking at the press conference Loach said: "We wanted to take a tragic situation and present it in a way that would make people smile but not ignore the reality underneath."

Whisky plays a lot of functions in the film.  While stopping short of defining whisky as a metaphor Loach said: "Whisky is a skill, it's a craft, people take a great pride in making it, the enjoyment of the craft and that is the way people definite themselves through work."

While the film ends happily with Robbie getting a job, Loach and scriptwriter Laverty pointed out that the three other young people in the film do not get a job and face a grim future just as the 75 million young people unemployed in today's Europe face a grim future.

As with so many other Loach films the director uses non-professionals in many of the leading roles with excellent effect.  The attractive young Paul Brannigan who plays Robbie was working in a community center as a football coach when he was approached to play in the film.   While Brannigan has subsequently been cast opposite Scarlett Johansson in a minor role he pointed out that he is now unemployed again and that he plans to go back to working in the community centre and coaching football.

 

Credits:

UK, France, Belgium, Italy

Director: Ken Loach

Screenwriter: Paul Laverty

DoP: Robbie Ryan

Production: Entertainment One, Sixteen Films, Why Not Productions, Wild Bunch
Cast: Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, William Ruane, Roger Allam, Gary Maitland, Jasmin Riggins, Siobhan Reilly