Stephen Frears's latest plots the tragedy visited upon a 1930's
Liverpool family following the father's redundancy, a drama viewed
principally through the eyes of the youngest son, the stammering Liam
(Borrows). Performances are pitch-perfect, especially Hart as the
hot-headed paterfamilias and Hackett as the beleaguered mum. It's a
BBC-funded film, ensuring authentic period detail; another plus is
Jimmy McGovern's script, with its unsentimental eye for lives policed
by the Catholic Church. Despite which, it doesn't add up to the sum of its
parts. It's curiously muted, never fully engaging our emotions - Jimmy
McGovern on dimmer.
