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Although not of a genre readily associated with Ken Loach,
Riff Raff is basically a romantic comedy--albeit one set against the backdrop of political and social injustice. Robert Carlyle is young Glaswegian Stevie, newly relocated to London and sleeping rough. He finds a job on a building site and embarks on a relationship with Irish singer Susan (Emer McCourt). The struggle that both the couple and their friends and workmates (the film is very much an ensemble piece) have to endure just to survive life on the margins of society paints a grim picture of early 1990s Britain, but also one that is shot through with resilient humor. Much of this comes from from Ricky Tomlinson's sublime performance, one that pre-dates his
Royle Family role but bears all the hallmarks of his comic genius. Some of the political interjections are understandably a little dated and a touch heavy-handed, but
Riff Raff is a film that successfully combines a sense of righteous indignation with a warm heart.
--Phil Udell
Product Description
LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: Socialist-leaning British director Ken Loach kicked off a decade's worth of acclaimed cinema with this surprisingly comic tale of working class laborers at a North London building site, written by Bill Jesse, a real-life construction worker who died before the film's release. Scottish ex-con Stevie (Robert Carlyle) finds work on a non-union crew converting a hospital into luxury condos. Like most of his coworkers, Stevie is homeless and finds a place to live by squatting in an abandoned building. The crew is exploited by its supervisors and endures unsafe conditions, and pay is so low that the men use false names so that they won't have to pay taxes. Stevie discovers a lost handbag, and when he returns it to the owner, a spacey hopeful singer named Susan (Emer McCourt), he falls in love. He and Susan are soon living together -- then Stevie discovers that his girlfriend is a habitual drug user. Meanwhile, the most outspoken worker, Larry (Ricky Tomlinson) loses his job when he questions authority once too often. Loach cast only actors who had construction experience in the film, kicking off the career of Carlyle, who later surged to stardom in The Full Monty (1997). SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Cannes Film Festival, European Film Awards, Goya Awards,
