Cert 15
102 mins
BBFC advice: Infrequent sexualised nudity
It seemed very apt during the week that the UK voted to 'win back the country from the time before the European Union' I should be watching the re-release of Ken Loach's Poor Cow.
As a child of the 1960s and a heart-and-soul newspaper man I have a penchant to look back on the decade as a golden time.
And I know of older folk who blame Europe for what they see as our post-60s decline.
Well, there is nothing like a contemporaneous film to put us in our place is there?
Carol White's magnificent portrayal of the ironically-named Joy stands alongside her performance in Cathy Come Home.
Here she is a young mum whose abusive husband (John Bindon) has been locked up for taking part in a bank robbery.
She is desperate for money to feed her new-born and cannot satisfy her needs with her bar job so turns to a more upmarket criminal (Terence Stamp) for solace.
Her optimism in the face of adversity means that she sees her new man as the perfect answer to life's problems, ignoring the inevitability that he will follow her husband into clink.
Through Poor Cow, left-wing Loach lays the lie to the notion that Britain in the 1960s was a land of milk and honey.
Instead, it shows how women were second class citizens, relying on throwing themselves at men to improve their lifestyle.
A cameo from 40-something Queenie Watts hammers home the point that this wasn't just the case for the young.
Meanwhile, a heartbreaking scene near the film's finale reminded me that even at a very young age we were just allowed to go out and wander the streets like cats.
Did our parents never worry?
Reasons to watch: a slice of reality to those who rose-tint the 1960s
Reasons to avoid: the hopelessness is a bit wearing
Laughs: none
Jumps: none
Vomit: none
Nudity: yes
Overall rating: 8.5/10
Star tweet
Monkey Poor Cow (1967). Wasn't hardship of bringing up kid alone with fellas inside that gave film title, it was Carol White listening to Donovan.
No comments:
Post a Comment