It's a Free World... (2007)

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Paul Laverty (writer)

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Angie gets the sack from a recruitment agency for bad behaviour in public. Seizing the chance, she teams up with her flatmate...

Plot Keywords:

Immigrant | Exploitation | Apostrophe In Title | Punctuation In Title | Employment Agency

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Kierston Wareing	...	Angela AKA Angie or Ange
Juliet Ellis	...	Rose
Leslaw Zurek	...	Karol
Joe Siffleet	...	Jamie
Colin Caughlin	...	Geoff
Maggie Russell	...	Cathy
Raymond Mearns	...	Andy
Davoud Rastagou	...	Mahmoud (as Davoud Rastgou)
Mahin Aminnia	...	Mahin - Mahmoud's Wife
Shadah Kavousian	...	Shadah - Mahmoud and His Wife's Child
Sheera Kavousian	...	Sheera - Mahmoud and His Wife's Child
Frank Gilhooley	...	Derek
David Doyle	...	Tony
Eddie Webber	...	Company Director
Johnny Palmiero	...	Company Director

Also Known As:

En un mundo libre... (Spain)
In questo mondo libero (Italy)
It's a Free World (Germany)
Polak potrzebny od zaraz (Poland)
These Times (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

Canada:96 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

UK | Italy | Germany | Spain | Poland

Language:

English | Polish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A | UK:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | France:U | Netherlands:12 | Sweden:11 | South Korea:18 | South Korea:15 | Australia:M | Finland:K-13

Filming Locations:

East End, London, England, UK

Company:

BIM Distribuzione

Trivia:

The movie Angela and Jamie are watching whilst waiting for the pizza to be delivered is Dog Soldiers (2002).

Quotes:

Karol: You know the old saying? Never return a favour, pass it on.

Movie Connections:

Features Dog Soldiers (2002)

A strong film that does not pull its punches

Winner of the award for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival, It's a Free World, the seventh collaboration between director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty, is a compelling look at the recruitment and exploitation of European undocumented workers, a subject touched upon recently in Stephen Frears' Dirty Pretty Things. As in many of Loach's earlier films, It's a Free World has a strong feeling for those who live on the margins in a society that does not care and, uncharacteristically for Loach, is surprisingly even-handed, showing the viewpoint of both the victim and the victimizer.

The film begins in Poland as a group of recruits gather around the CoreForce Recruitment Agency, willing to pay money for the right to work in the U.K. Given temporary visas, they manage to land jobs in construction, factory work, or farm labor at minimum wage without any trace of benefits or job security. When Angie (Kierston Wareing), a thirty-three year-old working class recruiter from London is fired for complaining about sexual harassment on the job, she joins with her roommate Rose (Juliet Ellis) in building her own agency in the U.K., matching immigrants from Eastern Europe with employers in London. Riding around on her motorbike, she interviews prospective employers and locates temporary shelters for her workers who must pay extra for the housing.

At the outset, conscious of the law and of her integrity, Angie establishes the rule that she will not provide employment to undocumented workers. Much to Rose's chagrin, Angie soon bends these rules and slowly begins to lose her moral compass, joining the competition in the recruiting and exploiting of illegal immigrants. Though she shows compassion in supporting an Iranian refugee who is desperately looking for work, she later calls the Immigration Department to arrest illegal workers who are living in housing provided by a competitor. Angie's change may be prompted by the reminder of her need to provide for her eleven-year-old son Jamie (Joe Siffleet) who has been living with her parents and has developed a proclivity to break other students' jaws at school.

Her father Geoff (Colin Caughlin) visits and tries to be encouraging about her new business but his stance is simple: immigrants have brought their troubles onto themselves and should not take up any of our concerns. When Angie justifies her actions by saying that if the workers didn't want the jobs, they wouldn't show up, it is reminiscent of politicians who blame the media for their moral and spiritual retreats. The issues crystallize when a friendly construction foreman is ripped off and Angie is unable to pay her workers, leading to a physical assaulted and a threat against Jamie by the angry workers.

In her first feature film performance, Kierston Wareing shows great promise as the blonde, leather-jacketed, motorcycle-riding entrepreneur who is willing to deal with the sleazier aspects of the business. With the knowledge that decades of public policy have led to this situation, however, Loach does not single her out as the only culprit, simply one who is unable to look beyond a value system that can only see what is in their immediate material self interest. Though It's a Free World is far less impactful than some of the earlier Loach-Laverty collaborations, it is a strong film that does not pull its punches and did not deserve a one-day U.K. opening and a direct-to-DVD treatment.