Ladybird, Ladybird [DVD]

Ken Loach films always feel real, and as this is based on a true story the poignancy is enhanced and you can't help but feel that this is a fairly honest portrayal of Maggie - the mother whose instabilities lead to her lose her children.

The film starts with an introduction, the beginnings of a new relationship between Maggie and Jorge as they meet at a pub karaoke. Sensing her sadness he asks about her life and the film makes good use of flashbacks to ensure that we fully understand the situation she now finds herself in. Thinking back to her childhood she remembers her father beating her mother as she stands crying. The image of a child stood sobbing as her mother is being kicked to the floor is incredibly disturbing, especially when it looks so real. History repeats itself when we see Maggie's ex-boyfriend punching her to the ground and shouting abuse as her own four children witness the attack, it's the first of many which lead to her moving to a refuge with the kids and eventual involvement by social services. The family is finally torn apart when a fire in the flat leaves her eldest son badly burnt after she leaves them locked in while she goes out.

There's a duality to Ladybird Ladybird; flashbacks make up a large portion of the film and tell Maggie's backstory in a fragmented but comprehensible way, we learn early on that her children were taken away, then we understand why, and then we see her current life with partner Jorge and witness the massive impact that her past has on their relationship. As with many other Loach films this has an unpolished look which gives it a `fly-on-the-wall' quality, it's perhaps fitting that a drama based on a true story looks more like a documentary. None of the roles feel acted, the characters aren't `performed' - they simply exist and it's no surprise that Crissy Rock won an award for bringing Maggie to life. The stories and situations here are so lifelike that I don't think I've ever watched a film and wanted so much for it to have a happy ending. The film is incredibly intense, the agony over having your children taken away is palpable through Maggie, you don't just watch her emotional meltdowns, you experience them too. For a film to interact emotively with the viewer on such a deep level is something few directors can manage, but Ken Loach does it time and time again by putting great effort into making his characters seem as though they could exist in real life. Of course this is based on a true story, but that doesn't make his craft any easier, we've all seen big studios create films based on true events and they still look like a glossy Hollywood version of the truth.

Interestingly, despite the incredibly emotional story, the politics and the social issues which are deeply woven into Ladybird Ladybird, it remains completely objective. Never judging Maggie and not demonising the local authorities, it simply lets the human stories unfold without guiding us into a pre-thought moral judgement. Just because Maggie is in many ways directly responsible for what happens at times, it makes her story no less tragic and we remain sympathetic, her background leaves her hopelessly Ill-prepared and without Jorge you suspect she may have succumbed to much worse, much earlier.

In a nutshell: Ken Loach, the master of verisimilitude oversees a film which is emotionally draining for all the right reasons and contains a performance from Crissy Rock which is quite frankly one of the best I've ever seen. Never less than utterly convincing.

I always enjoy Ken Loach films, brilliantly written, well-acted and they are always so real.
I know Crissy Rock is very funny in Benidorm but this film made her even more of a star in my eyes. What a superb actress! I didn't realise she could act so well!
She gave an oustanding performance, there were times when she had me feeling no sympathy for her at all, and the next... I really did feel for her character.
Ladybird Ladybird is funny, heartbreaking and just a great film based on actual events. What a fantastic drama! This is one of the best i've seen yet.
Will definately be watching again sometime soon.

watching this dvd again was just as great as the first time .it is a true story that reaches your heart as you realise these things really do happen, sad,heart breaking,but survival till the end, 100% great watching.