SORRY WE MISSED YOU

(15)

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SHOPPING on the high street continues to experience a steady decline as online retailers woo more and more of us to them. However, there are hidden costs to this convenience.

Director Ken

Loach and long-time screenwriter Paul Laverty use this societal shift as the backdrop for a gritty sliceof-life drama, a companion piece to the award-winning 2016 film I, Daniel Blake, exploring the pressure on hard-working families trapped in a vicious cycle of long work hours for minimum pay.

Ricky (Kris Hitchen) and wife Abby (Debbie Honeywood) are barely keeping their heads above water as they provide for teenage son Seb (Rhys Stone) and younger daughter Lisa Jane (Katie Proctor).

Despite Abby’s misgivings, Ricky sells the

(12A)

family car to invest in a delivery truck franchise that could turn his fortunes around.

Long hours and penalties for late delivery of online orders keep Ricky on the road, while Abby is forced to take the bus to carry out her duties as a caregiver in the local community. Misery has always enjoyed Loach’s company and there are some bleak moments to be had here. Yet Laverty finds glimmers of joy in the gloom, like a father and daughter bonding on a delivery route. Hitchen and Honeywood are superb as frazzled parents, struggling to dig themselves out of debt at the expense of precious time with their children. Sorry We Missed You confirms Loach as a vital socially conscious standard bearer for the working class, who believes in the power of cinema to prick consciences and highlight issues.