The Angels' Share (2012)

Narrowly avoiding jail, new dad Robbie vows to turn over a new leaf. A visit to a whisky distillery inspires him and his mates to seek a way out of their hopeless lives.

Director:

Ken Loach

Writer:

Paul Laverty (screenplay)

Stars:

Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, Roger Allam

7 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Paul Brannigan	...	Robbie
Siobhan Reilly	...	Leonie
John Henshaw	...	Harry
Gary Maitland	...	Albert
William Ruane	...	Rhino
Jasmin Riggins	...	Mo (as Jasmine Riggins)
Scott Dymond	...	Willy
Scott Kyle	...	Clancy
Neil Leiper	...	Sniper
James Casey	...	Dougie
Caz Dunlop	...	Caz
Gilbert Martin	...	Matt
Stewart Preston	...	Sheriff
Vincent Friell	...	Procurator Fiscal
Kirstin Murray	...	Defence Lawyer

Storyline

This bitter sweet comedy follows protagonist Robbie as he sneaks into the maternity hospital to visit his young girlfriend Leonie and hold his newborn son Luke for the first time. Overwhelmed by the moment, he swears that Luke will not have the same tragic life he has had. Escaping a prison sentence by the skin of his teeth, he's given one last chance......While serving a community service order, he meets Rhino, Albert and Mo who, like him, find it impossible to find work because of their criminal records. Little did Robbie imagine how turning to drink might change their lives - not cheap fortified wine, but the best malt whiskies in the world. Will it be 'slopping out' for the next twenty years, or a new future with 'Uisge Beatha' the 'Water of Life?' Only the angels know........

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Plot Keywords:

distillery | community service | heist | kilt | scotch whisky | 

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Taglines:

Four friends. One mission. Lots of spirit.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ken Loach's 11th film in 31 years to compete at the Cannes Film Festival. (Loach won the Jury Prize for The Angels' Share (2012).)

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Goofs

When Albert is sitting on Rhino's shoulder looking through the pub window you can see the cameraman's reflection in the window on the right of Albert. The cameraman's reflection becomes even more visible after Rhino puts Albert down.

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Quotes

Harry: I'll tell you what. If you can tell me what year it is, I'll let you come with us.
Albert: What year it is?
Harry: Yeah.
Albert: Feels as if I'm fuckin' on Who Wants to be a Millionaire here. Can I phone a friend?

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema- and DVD versions have eight uses of the strongest profanity removed in order to obtain a 15 classification. The Blu-ray is uncut and rated 18.

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Connections

References Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (1998)

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Soundtracks

Some Chords
Performed by Deadmau5
Licensed courtesy of Virgin Records Limited
Written by Deadmau5 (as Joel Zimmerman)
Published by EMI Music Publishing Limited

User Reviews

Delightful

'The Angels Share' is the latest film by Ken Loach about living on the rough side of Glasgow, Scotland and trying to cope with your past. It's a delightful little film that's really funny as well as portraying a lot of dark aspects about modern Scottish lifestyles.

The acting is surprisingly great; there are no real known actors in this besides John Henshaw who was fantastic despite not having a lot of screen-time. New-comers like Paul Brannigan are excellent and really carry this film. The performances of those main four characters are all done well, particularly Gary Maitland.

The script is quite interesting and has a great Scottish theme to it. The dialogue is fantastic, the conversations in this film seem so real and the colloquialisms provide so much humour for Scottish audiences. There have been few Scottish films lately that seem like a real Scottish film. The film also discusses a lot of other important issues i.e. alcoholism, drug abuse, poverty, violence and gang culture. It paints a picture of some people's lives in Glasgow.

Overall, this is a feel-good film which does discuss a lot of important, dark Scottish issues. It also has some great comedy included and fantastic dialogue making this film one of the best British films of 2012.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

UK France Belgium Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 June 2012 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Angels' Share

Filming Locations:

Mitchell Lane, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,837, 14 April 2013

Gross USA:

$346,669

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$13,090,471

Company Credits

Production Co:

Entertainment One, Sixteen Films, Why Not Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1