Raining Stones [1993]

 Raining Stones, like the best of Ken Loach’s working-class films, was interlaced with political angst, social realism, profound empathy, solid old-fashioned storytelling, and a terrific ear for local dialects. The film, that progressively transitioned from being funny and picaresque to poignant and desolate to tense and furious, presented a deftly realized look at the lives of the marginalized in post-Thatcher England under the grips of a crushing economic depression, thus making it a fitting companion piece to his brilliant previous film Riff-Raff.  Bob (Bruce Jones) is an unemployed Irish Catholic man living on dole, which isn’t enough for the sustenance of his family that comprises of his wife Anne (Julie Brown) and little daughter. Hence, he, along with his gregarious unemployed buddy Tommy (Ricky Tomlinson), keeps exploring ways to hustle some extra money – pilfering sheep from the countryside, stealing turf from a private club, cleaning drains, working as a bouncer, etc. – to make ends meet. However, his struggle gets amplified when his van gets stolen, and more so when he – against the sensible advices of Anne, his atheist father-in-law, and even the surprisingly atypical Father Barry (Tom Hickey) – decides to purchase an expensive dress for her daughter’s Communion. Things become especially awry when he borrows from a vicious loan shark (Jonathan James). Loach infused humour, warmth and unanticipated hope into the otherwise bleak storyline, and smartly deviated in his characterizations and narrative arc to avoid stereotypes and predictability, thus adding nuance and depth into the mix. The script by socialist playwright Jim Allen balanced the film’s political and emotional cores, while exquisite turns by Jones, Tomlinson and Brown, and gritty photography of actual Manchester locales, enhanced its rich authenticity.

Director: Ken Loach

Genre: Drama/Comedy/Social Drama/Family Drama

Language: English

Country: UK