Riff-Raff (1991)

The story of Stevie, a construction worker, and his girlfriend, an unemployed pop singer, serves to show the living conditions of the British poor class

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Bill Jesse (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Carlyle, Emer McCourt, Jim R. Coleman

3 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robert Carlyle	...	Stevie
Emer McCourt	...	Susan
Jim R. Coleman	...	Shem (as Jimmy Coleman)
George Moss	...	Mo
Ricky Tomlinson	...	Larry
David Finch	...	Kevin
Richard Belgrave	...	Kojo
Ade Sapara	...	Fiaman
Derek Young	...	Desmonde
Bill Moores	...	Smurph
Luke Kelly	...	Ken Jones
Gary Lammin	...	Mick (as Garrie J. Lammin)
Willie Ross	...	Gus Siddon
Dean Perry	...	Wilf
Dylan O'Mahony	...	Youth

Storyline

The story of Stevie, a construction worker, and his girlfriend, an unemployed pop singer, serves to show the living conditions of the British poor class

---

Plot Keywords:

construction site | killing a rat | scaffold | singing audition | arson | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The accents of the characters was so heavy that the film provided subtitles, even for British audiences.

---

Goofs

Between 7:56 and 8:00 minutes into the movie, as Robert Carlyle enters his squat for the first time, you can clearly see the boom under the ceiling and the boom operator on the left as Robert walks by.

---

Quotes

Steve: I'm into merchandising myself.
Susan: Really.
Steve: Aye, boxer shorts, colored socks, things like that... that's where I'm heading.

---

Connections

Referenced in Special Collector's Edition: La historia interminable (2ª parte) (2010)

---

Soundtracks

Won't You Charleston With Me
Composed by Sandy Wilson

User Reviews

Criminally underrated

Riff-Raff is so realistic in its depiction of British working class conditions in the building industry of the time. Hard working lads living hard lives making poor money and working for shifty cost cutting employers. More than that though, Loach has filled the story with believable characters and has them speaking realistically with real local accents and absolutely zero political correctness.

Hats off to whoever was in charge of the casting. Standout performances from Robert Carlyle and Ricky Tomlinson but to be fair the entire cast were believable in their roles. There's very authentic feel to the film, almost like watching a documentary instead. Criminally Underrated.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Riff-Raff

Filming Locations:

Deaconess Court, Tottenham Green East, Tottenham, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$295,444

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$295,444

Company Credits

Production Co:

Parallax Pictures, Channel Four Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1