It's a Free World

Director: Ken Loach
Starring: Kierston Wareing, Juliet Ellis, Leslaw Zurek

Rather than sitting on the fence on the issues of immigration, corruption and ambition, Ken Loach has chosen to leap from side to side in his own cinematic debate on these subjects in It's a Free World..., the ellipsis at the end of the title suggesting purely the opposite, or, rather, that such freedom must be bought or bartered.

Set in the world of industrial recruitment, papered migrants and illegal immigrants suffer to provide for their families, and seem to be labeled as those who suffer gladly unless and until the money disappears. And while the men in Loach's picture fluctuate from the out-of-luck to the oaf and the ogre, it's the women who conduct themselves with most interest. After harassment and missed opportunities in the male-dominated workplace, single mother Angie (Kierston Wareing) is determined to take corporate control into her own hands, and uses moxie and cleavage to woo factory employers to try out her rainbow-logo'd brand of blue-collar labor. Wareing's effort in conveying Angie's ambition and attitude at all times, except when gagged, is impressive in its believability - she definitely oozes a rough-at-the-edges sex appeal that would scare the pants off any prep school graduate.

Angie's ethos of self-empowerment is executed with an efficiency that demands rules and regulations (tax, papers) be flexible, but only to kick-start the business. The temptation to continue to capitalize on the UK's systemic flaws, however, holds too much allure. Does money really corrupt all? It sure seems so. And while Angie harbors political refugees who've fled their country due to the Iranian crack-down on free press, she swings and sways from Mother Teresa to wolf-den mother depending on the day's stakes. Angie's life lies somewhere in the huge space between the legitimate and the legalities. It certainly seems she believes in utilizing these Eastern Bloc and South American workers less for the sake of extolling the virtues of a globalized workforce and more to trade in the currency of last resorts.

While It's a Free World... suggests that human rights apply to all races, or, rather, while the right to be human applies to all races regardless of origin, the world is rife with corruption, exploitation and opportunism. And in this environment, women in power are just as likely to fall foul as men, just as likely to act on their sexual surges, and just as likely to betray. History no doubt repeats itself many times over when it endows the revolution with the legitimacy of rule only to see the dreamers impersonate their predecessors. After all, the abused all too often become abusive.

Loach keeps the plot moving and tension building amidst school suspensions, custody battles and debts that mount while competitors grow concerned. And yet he finds time to consider Angie's interests in relation to those of her dad, whose point of view is that of the previous generation - that foreign workforces affect the future opportunities of their kin and their kind.

Of all Loach's work, Free World reminds me most of Bread and Roses, in which Adrien Brody rallies to unionize immigrants involved in cleaning services in downtown Los Angeles. Loach's protagonists have developed comprehensively since that film, and the fact that Angie, in this film, is almost exactly divisible into Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde makes for a fascinating rollercoaster. The acting, as in all Loach's films, is so innate 98 percent of the time as to make the viewer feel voyeuristic. Loach's effort from last year, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, won the Cannes Palme d'Or and blew me away; returning this year to an urban jungle, Loach again holds viewers captive, hypnotized by the train crash about to happen before their eyes.

Images courtesy of Pathé!