With this, Loach hit the age of 80 and feature number 26 with his righteous ire at the inequities of the world intact and vented at full force. Dave Johns plays a joiner forced to stop working after a heart attack, who is progressively ground down by the benefits system which declares him fit for work and not eligible for work incapacity payments, contrary to his doctor's opinion, and then still denies him his employment allowance as well. He finds some respite in helping a single mother settle in the area in between struggling to get to grips with computers and bureaucracy, but it's really an unwinnable war of attrition against his resolve.
Of course, various Tory ministers criticised the depiction of Jobcentre staff as bureaucratic drones intent on doing everything to disqualify people from getting support as being unrealistic, but anyone who has come up against the cold barbarism of the hoops you have to jump through will know that there's really very little exaggeration on show here. The story does accordingly follow a depressingly preset path, but the acting - once again, with supporting roles given mostly to non-professionals - is superlative and the fury is utterly justified.
7/10
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