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Kierston Wareing, Juliet Ellis, Leslaw Zurek, Joe Siffleet, Colin Coughlin ... see more see more... , Raymond Mearns , Frank Gilhooley , David Doyle

With a central trope that recalls Jerzy Skolimowski's Moonlighting (1982), Palme d'Or winner Ken Loach's ironically titled social-consciousness drama It's a Free World... dissects the problem of explo... read more read more...ited immigrant labor from the perspective of one taking advantage. Actress Kierston Wareing stars as Angie, a native of London's East End who works for a shady and sketchy employment agency that predominantly hires illegal Eastern European immigrants. Unceremoniously fired from that outfit, she cooks up the scheme of establishing her own such agency with the help of a roommate, Rose (Juliet Ellis); Angie begins scouting the local factories to recruit cheap labor, while Rose puts up a website and mission statement to give the operation a distinct veneer of class and idealism. As Angie flaunts her body and unabashedly uses the lure of sex to attract new clients and business, she ignorantly fails to acknowledge warnings that she may be headed for dangerous waters. Meanwhile, family problems erupt when Angie's extremely dysfunctional and misguided 11-year-old son, Jamie (Joe Siffleet), gets in trouble for severely beating a classmate, and Angie's unionist father grows utterly horrified when he learns of his daughter's activities. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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70% liked it

3,974 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

18 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 33 min.

Directed by: Ken Loach

Release Date: September 24, 2007

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Flixster Reviews (452)

  • liquidstone14
    October 15, 2008
    liquidstone14
    Loach has done it again. The social realism card that he has exploited so well during his career is used to full effect here : his commentary on the issue of immigration is clearly not a 'solution', but rather representation of an issue so vast and exhaustive that, well, you can ... read moreeasily see why no one thinks it's their problem to solve.

    As so, as our Angie descends deeper into the moral abyss to overcome her own missteps, the tension escalates (mildly). And yet, for a film about illegal immigration, the menace of getting caught is only viewed from afar. Loach is able to convincingly paint a whole world that exists almost solely outside the boundaries of the law-- the legal system has no major dispute with them. The bad news will rather arrive when a gang of payless, desperate employees will begin to apply some pressure on Angie. Violence becomes part of the game. As if it wasn't bad enough, there is also, on a personal level, an eleven-year old child that Angie's parents appear to be raising for her.

    It's all written in grey spots, colliding with other issues from time to time (yet without fully exploring them, like single motherhood), and in the end, it doesn't feel hopeful at all. Lower-class England is depicted as a constant survival of the fittest; it's a bit of a shame his last third, feeling relevant but meant to be climactic, feels a bit off-track, but the messages pass nonetheless.

    An inevitable bleak ending also waters down the momentum, and the numerous narrative cuts that give the impression the film would have benefited from another solid ten minutes-- but those are minor complaints. Whatever flaws there might be in the structure are largely compensated by the performances, and Kierston Wareing's fearless take on Angie is about as eye-opening as anything I've ever seen in a cinema in my life. Not that her performance transcends history, but being in litterally every scene, she constantly holds our attention with a presence both reassuring and vulnerable at the same time. I don't know how she manages that, but her character's duality is fully explored, with often compelling results.

    It's all very, very good, in the end. It's not a major work of art, but as a portrait of troubled times, It's a Free World highlights the fact,even with its title, that there might not be that much freedom left for everyone in our little world...
  • chrismid259
    September 25, 2007
    chrismid259
    Not a great film but it's a good example of an insight into illegal work in the UK.

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
April 1, 2010
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

I emerged from this story feeling sadder and wiser but was never fully engaged. Full Review

Peter Howell
April 25, 2008
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Newcomer Wareing delivers an award-worthy performance as the steely Angie, who is impossible to hate even as she descends deeper into the moral abyss. Full Review

Kamal Al-Solaylee
April 25, 2008
Kamal Al-Solaylee, Globe and Mail

The film's bleak but powerful ending is a wake-up call to Britain and a measure of the pessimism of Loach, one of its most trenchant critics. I fear things must be really bad over there. Full Review

Manohla Dargis
February 29, 2008
Manohla Dargis, New York Times

It's a free world, Ken Loach asserts in his latest film with well-practiced disgust and unfortunately little hope.

Alissa Simon
September 4, 2007
Alissa Simon, Variety

The hot-button topic of exploited immigrant labor forms the backdrop of It's a Free World .... , the latest collaboration between helmer Ken Loach and scribe Paul Laverty. Full Review

Ray Bennett
September 4, 2007
Ray Bennett, Hollywood Reporter

[Director] Loach is in excellent form making the most of a shrewd screenplay by Paul Laverty and drawing a winning performance from newcomer Kierston Wareing as a brassy but misguided entrepreneur.

Dennis Schwartz
January 3, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Despite the timely and topical subject matter, this one just sits there and lays an egg that never poaches. Full Review

Liz Braun
April 25, 2008
Liz Braun, Jam! Movies

Loach is offering commentary, not solutions, so this one could be the feel-bad film of the week. In the best way, of course. Full Review

Tim Brayton
March 24, 2008
Tim Brayton, Antagony & Ecstasy

Even if it collapses in on itself a bit, there's still a rough power underneath everything that makes it worth a look. Full Review

Cole Smithey
March 4, 2008
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com

Realistically filmed, but limited by narrative cuts that hopscotch through time, "It's a Free World" is a flawed film that overflows with ideas. You should never pass up a Ken Loach movie, and this is... Full Review

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  • Who directed 2007 film It's a Free World about the experience of foreign workers in Britain?  Answer »
  • Live Free or Die Hard-2007 Wizard is such a paranoid geek, his basement is a "Fallout/zombie" shelter, he has a C/B to communicate with the outside world incase of a "Zombie Armeggedon". What is it's frequency?   Answer »
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