The Unloved (2009) (TV)

Director:

Samantha Morton

Writers:

Tony Grisoni (screenplay)
Samantha Morton (screenplay)

Release Date:

17 May 2009 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A film that gives a child's eye view of the U.K.'s government-run care system for orphans and children in danger.

Plot Keywords:

Child Abuse | Social Worker | Drug Use | Indifference | Isolation

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Robert Carlyle	...	Father
Lauren Socha	...	Lauren
Susan Lynch	...	Mother
Michael Socha	...	Michael
Molly Windsor	...	Lucy

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

EM Media

Trivia:

Samantha Morton wished The Unloved to be filmed for television rather than for Cinema. The reason being is that she thought, as in her own childhood experiences with going to the cinema, younger audiences' might not afford the price of a cinema ticket. Thus, younger audiences' would see this production "for free".

Excellent first feature from Samantha Morton

With this film, Samantha Morton has done better than most actors-turned-directors, as she displays an understanding not just of the ways in which films make meaning and are experienced by their audience, but also of human behaviour and the way life itself unfolds. While similar subject matter has certainly been covered before in British films, from Ken Loach to Lynne Ramsay (from whom Morton seems to have learned cinematic pacing and how to "show and not tell"), this film is still able to give a fresh experience, just like how many people share very similar lives on the surface, yet each one is unique.

Without giving anything away plot-wise, the scenes which stand out for excellent direction, acting and pacing are the opening one between the main character and her father, another later on between these same characters in a pub, an outdoor rave, and a fight that breaks out between a group of adults who are supposed to be the responsible ones (though the beauty of the way this scene is handled lies in the fact that we can't be sure some of them *aren't* being responsible by doing what they're doing!).

The last shot could have been one of the stronger endings I've seen in recent cinema, but the music that plays over it detracts from the power it could have had - instead of allowing viewers to have their own individual reactions to this image (and there's enough power and emotion inherent in the situation that it would be nearly impossible not to experience something during this shot), the music tells us what the emotions are, through both instrumentation and lyrics. This serves to detach the audience somewhat from what we're seeing, instead of sucking us in like most of the film has already succeeded so well in doing.

I can only hope Morton directs another film in the (near) future.