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

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Plot Keywords:

squatting | killing a rat | scaffold | singing audition | standing in the bath tub | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 February 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lim-lom

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Gross USA:

$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

Did You Know?

Trivia

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

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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.

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Quotes

Gus Siddon: Well the crux of it is - if you clock on late, you'll clock off a bloody sight earlier, right? You got it? Thursday mornin's payday. It's also sackin' day. Be warned. We hire these skips, not for you lot to lean on - they've got to be filled. While I'm on about it, I trust none of you lot are signin' on as well.
Mo: I didn't think you could do that.
Gus Siddon: You'd be surprised what some of you bastards get up to. I've had my eyes opened a few times, I'll tell you that.
Shem: What type of things are you talkin' ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: Four Weddings and a Funeral/The Cement Garden/Above the Rim/Raining Stones/The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (1994)

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Soundtracks

Spread A Little Happiness
Composed by Sting (as Gordon Sumner) and Vivian Ellis

User Reviews

Quasi-documentary brilliant social commentary

I've always been astonished by Ken Loach's ability to make me forget that these are actors that I'm watching, or that this is a movie on a set, etc. The characters in this film are so real, so lifelike, that it was almost like watching a documentary. The film very wisely employs subtitles for the English dialogue, much or most of which would be unintelligible to an American audience.

Several of the reviews I have read of this film call it a comedy. Well, although there are one or two comic scenes, to me this is far from a comedy. This is a bitter and biting howl of rage against the plight of the working class in the UK. These men are used and exploited by their employers. There is no doubt that these construction sites would be cited for safety violations, or even closed down, if they were in the USA. and the owner-managers might well be prosecuted, since their willful negligence ultimately results in a death. What is lacking in the British working class, if this film is any guide, is any sense of upward mobility, any hope, any sense that I can make it out of this and find a better life. The one exception to this is the protagonist's girl friend, who is a monumentally untalented aspiring singer, and in her case we don't feel that there is much hope either.