Ken Loach-Raining Stones (1993)

Bob (Bruce Jones) lives with his wife Anne (Julie Brown) and his daughter Coleen (Gemma Phoenix) in a poor English town. Bob scrapes by with whatever odd jobs come his way — working as a bouncer, stealing green turf, cleaning septic tanks. Although Bob has no money and is living on the dole, he is determined to buy his daughter a dress for her first communion. The local parish priest (Tom Hickey) suggests that Bob settle cheaper and get a second-hand dress for Coleen's communion. But Bob will have none of that. Bob wants a new dress for his daughter, and no matter what it takes he will get a dress for her. Unfortunately, Bob has only murky ideas about how to earn the money to buy it. amazon.com




This Ken Loach film tells the story of a man devoted to his family and his religion. Proud, though poor, Bob wants his little girl to have a beautiful (and costly) brand-new dress for her First Communion. His stubbornness and determination get him into trouble as he turns to more and more questionable measures, in his desperation to raise the needed money. This tragic flaw leads him to risk all that he loves and values, his beloved family, indeed even his immortal soul and salvation, in blind pursuit of that goal. (http://imdb.com/title/tt0107920/plotsummary)




Raining Stones is classic Ken Loach–an overtly bleak piece of drama shot through with defiant humour, a story of life beyond the edge of society. Bob (Bruce Jones) is unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, especially with the added pressure of his young daughter's first communion and the expense involved. And that's it really–one man's struggle to maintain his dignity and provide for his family. (–Phil Udell - Amazon.co.uk Review)




Despite the film's frequent moments of comedy (more often than not provided by Loach regular Ricky Tomlinson), Raining Stones is ultimately more than a little disheartening. The film is in many ways similar to Loach's previous film, Riff Raff (1991), but here the examples of a community pulling together are countered with backstabbing and exploitation. In the end, there are no winners or losers in Loach's world, only those who survive and those who don't.(–Phil Udell - Amazon.co.uk Review)




That said, the film is realistic and set in real locations. Loach didn't have to build sets or work hard to convey the hopelessness of unemployment in a Northern town, the people and places did that for him. His talent is in bringing this to the screen and still giving the people the dignity they deserve as they struggle to make some kind of life in a post-industrial wasteland. (amazon.com)