Sorry We Missed You

Starring: Kris Hitchen, Debbie Honeywood, Rhys Stone, Katie Proctor.

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

Despite Abby's misgivings, Ricky sells the 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 Lisa Jane is forced to take the bus to carry out her duties as a caregiver in the local community.

When Seb plays truant to spray paint graffiti with friends, the fabric of family life tears at the seams and Ricky and Abby are faced with agonising choices.

"I never thought it would be this difficult," laments Ricky.

Sorry We Missed You is a gritty slice-of-life drama, which confidently delivers inner turmoil and desperation to a married couple in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The film confirms director Ken Loach as a socially and politically conscious standard bearer for the working class.

Hitchen and Honeywood are superb as frazzled parents, struggling to dig themselves out of debt at the expense of precious time with their children.

Misery has always enjoyed Loach's company and there are some desperately bleak moments here.

Yet screenwriter Paul Laverty finds glimmers of joy in the gloom like a father and daughter bonding on a delivery route, or a family curry night where Ricky orders the hottest dish because, "Vindaloo separates the men from the boys!"