Ladybird Ladybird (1994)

This Ken Loach docu-drama relates the story of a British woman's fight with Social Services over the care of her children. Maggie has a history of bouncing from one abusive relationship to ... See full summary »

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Rona Munro

Stars:

Crissy Rock, Vladimir Vega, Sandie Lavelle

6 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Crissy Rock	...	Maggie Conlan
Vladimir Vega	...	Jorge
Sandie Lavelle	...	Mairead
Mauricio Venegas	...	Adrian
Ray Winstone	...	Simon
Clare Perkins	...	Jill
Jason Stracey	...	Sean
Luke Brown	...	Mickey
Lily Farrell	...	Serena
Scottie Moore	...	Maggie's Father
Linda O'Grady	...	Maggie's Mother (as Linda Ross)
Kim Hartley	...	Maggie, aged 5
Jimmy Batten	...	Karaoke's Compere
Sue Sawyer	...	Foster Mother
Pamela Hunt	...	Mrs. Higgs

Storyline

This Ken Loach docu-drama relates the story of a British woman's fight with Social Services over the care of her children. Maggie has a history of bouncing from one abusive relationship to another. She has four children, of four different fathers, who came to the attention of Social Services when they were injured in a fire. Subsequently, Maggie was found to be an "unfit mother" and her children were removed from her care. She finally meets the man of her dreams, a Paraguayan expatriate, and they start a family together. Unfortunately, Social Services seems unwilling to accept that her life has changed and rends them from their new children. She and Jorge together, and separately, fight Social Services, Immigration, and other government bureaucrats in a desperate battle to make their family whole again.

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Plot Keywords:

children | social service | violence | unfit mother | love | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language and intense depiction of domestic abuse

Did You Know?

Trivia

Roger Ebert stated Crissy Rocks performance as 'Maggie' was the strongest of 1994.

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Quotes

Maggie Conlan: Love isn't for me. Love is a fucking fairy tale.

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Memo to the Academy - 1995 (1995)

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Soundtracks

Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But the Rent
Written by Gwen Guthrie

User Reviews

In search of a mother's dignity.

Kenneth Loach ,among all the great directors in the world,has always been one of the very few who depicts the "riff raff" ,to quote one of his works.In his universe, you will not find the young lawyer ,the yalie,the dynamic executive,the journalist with good prospects or the handsome detective with his gorgeous assistant.All his characters are individuals struggling against the authorities and who cannot win:the little boy from "kes",the young girl from 'family life",the two buddies on the dole from "looks and smiles",and the unfortunate mother from "ladybird ladybird". "Ladybird,ladybird" is a harsh movie,sometimes unbearable,definitely not for all tastes.Crissy Rock is absolutely astounding,she does not play the part,she really lives it,leaving us on the edge of our seat.Her screams,her tears,her anger are so real that,had Loach not said it was a true story,we would believe in it anyway.Loach's treatment is stripped of any embellishment.No need for strings when fate strikes once more the heroine.Her partner,an immigrant,is a good man who loves her sincerely ;he suffers because he feels helpless,and when she beats him,he does not complain:his despair is so deep he contemplates suicide.We are far from the immigrant macho cliché. The heroine must come from a poor social background,so she was never taught the rules of the game,so she is bound to fail.But Loach avoids to show us the people from the social services as "baddies":it's for her own good,they say.They reason by the establishment's rules,but they never try to communicate with the mother,deemed irresponsible,unable to get a place in the community.The end of the movie preserves the viewer from despair though.Every dog has his day,they say.May it be true for this poor couple!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

January 1995 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ladybird, Ladybird

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$38,976,598 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$152,457

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$152,457

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Film Four International, Parallax Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1