“When you eat together you stick together.” I’m musing over this old adage used in “The Old Oak” as I’m on my way to Bangladesh for the 11th time. There is a stark chasm between those who have plenty and are safe and those who are suffering with their lives at risk. How do we bridge the gap and stem the growing resentments?
The film team of director Ken Loach, writer Paul Laverty and producer Rebecca O’Brien focus on this struggle in a deteriorating village in northern England. The town mine was closed by Thatcher in the 1980s, but nothing came in to replace the lost jobs. Lives languished and the mining families were left adrift unable to recover. A few bonded regulars hang out at the run-down local bar, The Old Oak.
The growing resentment in town centers around “newcomers.” The villagers ask why the refugees from Syria deserve used clothing and donations from the churches when the regular inhabitants, who have been suffering for 40 years, get nothing.
“The Old Oak” is deservedly being considered for Best International Feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay. But let me spend a little time describing Dave Turner, the lead who serves as the Old Oak bartender.
In the beginning, you wonder if this film is a documentary or a feature. The deeply sensitive directing, authentic setting and natural acting are so realistic you think it’s real. Part of the reason is the one factor not mentioned in award consideration: Dave Turner.
Turner, a beefy Geordie (person from Newcastle in northern England), retired after 30 years in the fire service and as a union official. In retirement, he opened a bar called The Oak Tree. He drove the future director and writer, Ken Loach and Paul Laverty, around the pit villages in County Durham explaining that they’d just been left to rot. To add to the injury, he told them that most of the refugees were being placed in the northeast where there is the least money, and few were being placed in the south where there is the most.
Turner’s the real thing, not a trained actor. So, when he was invited to play the lead in “The Old Oak” he was flabbergasted.
“The Old Oak” is not just the title of the film and the bar, it is a metaphor for what is hardy, long-lived, and resilient. That also describes Turner’s character, TJ Ballantyne.
Ballantyne has a bit of a second life. When he’s not working the bar, he is part of a two-person charity unit that distributes donated goods to the Syrian refugees.
Ballantyne is alienated from his family through divorce and was going to commit suicide until a stray dog came upon the scene. The dog and local charity work end up giving him some purpose and a chance to do what’s right – but he doesn’t proselytize.
The shift in the film and the village begins when people realize the bar has a large back room with a kitchen. Now different groups have expectations of Ballantyne – but the tightrope on which group to honor and still keep the bar afloat becomes a highwire act.
“The Old Oak” is a grand constructive film of remedy and redemption. It’s a masterpiece of subtle reflection. What if all we had to do was commit to community to find satisfaction and happiness in living? Would we do it?
Rating: 10/10
Credits
Director: Ken Loach
Screenplay: Paul Laverty
Producer: Rebecca O’Brien
Production Design: Fergus Clegg
Photography: Robbie Ryan
Recordist: Ray Beckett
Sound: Kevin Brazier
Casting: Kahleen Crawford
Cast: Dave Turner, Ebla Mari, Claire Rodgerson, Trevor Fox, Chris McGlade, Col Tait, Jordan Louis, Chrissie Robinson, Chris Gotts, Jen Patterson, Arthur Oxley, Joe Armstrong, Andy Dawson and Maxie Peters
Editor: Jonathan Morris
Composer: George Fenton
Released: April 7, 2024
Executive Producers: Pascal Caucheteux, Grégoire Sorlat, and Vincent Maraval
Sixteen Films, WhyNot Productions, Goodfellas, BFI,BBC Film, Les Films du Fleuve, France 2 Cinéma, Canal +, France Télévisions, Le Pac
Official Website: https://zeitgeistfilms.com/film/the-old-oak
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