Ken Loach directs Dave Turner, Ebla Mari and Claire Rodgerson in this British drama where a pub owner allows the new Syrian refugees in his area to use his failing business as a community space.

With Loach now retired, has this brand of socially informed cinema had its day? The Old Oak rarely feels made for the people affected by the issues it churns up. The push and pull of sentimentality and dystopia feels manipulative and didactic. The community theatre acting is woeful in the smaller roles… frequently dragging you out of the thin narrative. My heart is with the movie but my head feels divorced from it. Even the ultimate message that good deeds are ephemeral yet they might at least produce small (rare) echoes of decency in the futures of individuals is quite pessimistic. But also pragmatic…?

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Perfect Double Bill: Sorry We Missed You (2019)

I write regular features about live comedy for British Comedy Guide here https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/bobby_carroll/features/