Ep993: THE OLD OAK (2023) - Movie Review

Kicking the Seat

It's a classic case of head versus heart as Ian and David take on The Old Oak!

The guys have very different takes on the (purported) final film by esteemed director Ken Loach, in which a young Syrian refugee named Yara (Ebla Mari) and her family move into an impoverished Northern England former mining town in 2016. Yara befriends TJ (Dave Turner), the owner of the titular pub, who is caught between loyalty to his xenophobic friends/patrons and the instinct to look out for these new, well-meaning strangers.

In this spoilerific discussion, Ian and David dig into Loach and screenwriter Paul Laverty's effective use of acting, aesthetics, and mood in crafting their sympathetic, pro-immigrant "message movie"--one that paints all attendant concerns about numbers, culture, and economics as strictly the domain of alcoholic racist idiots.

Is this, as the filmmakers likely thought of it, "the movie we need right now"? Or is it a polemic disguised as a (very well executed) slice-of-life drama?

Pull up a stool, pour yourself a drink, and find out!

Subscribe, like, and comment to the Kicking the Seat YouTube channel, and check out kickseat.com for multiple movie podcasts each week!

Show Links

• Watch the Old Oak trailer.

• As mentioned in the show, The 11th Chicago Critics Film Festival kicks off this Friday (May 3rd) at the Music Box Theatre. Get your festival passes and tickets now!

• Follow David Fowlie's film criticism at Keeping It Reel.