Raining Stones
Directed by Ken Loach
Screenplay by Jim Allen
Dendy Cinema, Sydney, from March 17
Reviewed by Claudine Holt
Raining Stones is a funny and humane film portraying the life of one working-class family in Lancaster. It neither glamorises nor glorifies this existence, but shows that when you've got no job or livable income, life is one continuous stream of struggle and suffering.
Bob (Bruce Jones) and his wife Anne (Julie Brown) are both unemployed and don't have enough money to buy their daughter Colleen (Gemma Phoenix) a new dress for her first communion. Written by Jim Allen, the story follows Bob and his friend Tommy (Ricky Tomlinson) in their attempts to raise a quid. Every day is an unlucky day and every effort fraught with setbacks.
As the communion draws closer, Bob, without consulting Anne, resorts to borrowing money. This is no real solution, as the loan shark bullies and threatens them when the repayments aren't being met. If life had been difficult until then, it is going to get worse.
The film touches on the issue of religion and the contradictory role it can play in working-class life. Script writer Jim Allen, who comes from this local community, notes that while "the mystique of the church is a kind of spiritual Valium", he portrays the local priest, Father Barry (Tom Hickey) sympathetically as someone the community relies upon and who in turn supports them.
It is filmed on location in Middleton, Lancastershire, with the help and support of local residents, who appear as extras in the film. In fact, most of the cast are non-professionals who work part-time acting. Nevertheless, their performances are first rate, and they carry and develop their roles convincingly.
The majority of current cinema reserves its realism and brutality for the portrayal of criminals and the under-class, so to see working-class poverty unsanitised can come as a shock. Ken Loach (Riff Raff, Hidden Agenda) again achieves the realism which is the hallmark of many of his movies.
Raining Stones will make you laugh, cry and shudder. It will not let you forget about the millions of people like Bob, Anne and Tommy who are the victims of an unjust social system. It deservedly won the 1993 Jury Prize at Cannes and should be seen if only to remind you how much the world needs changing.
The Dendy Cinema on George Street has 15 double passes to give away to see Raining Stones. The first five people to call 264 1577 between 2.15 and 2.30pm on Friday, March 11, will receive a double pass to the special opening night screening on March 17. The following 10 callers will receive a double pass to the sneak previews on the weekend.