It doesn’t start so tweely, though, as The Angels’ Share opens with a bunch of Glasgow ragamuffins, sentenced to community service after an assortment of misconduct, from shoplifting to assault, from drunken-and-disorderly behaviour to dicking about on a train station platform. While we are at first introduced to this bunch as an ensemble, Loach soon homes in on young Robbie (Paul Brannigan), a lad with a temper who is given one last chance to get his life back on track. That is, until Harry (John Henshaw) comes into his life. No doubt the repeat recipient of the Scottish Social Worker of the Year Award, Harry wastes no time before taking Robbie under his wing, bussing him about when he should be painting the interiors of public buildings, and taking him and the group out on trips on his days off. One such display of warmth is to pass on his passion for whisky to Robbie, who, it turns out, is quite the natural. Before long, he’s developing his palette and pursuing this new-found hobby with life-changing enthusiasm. And, then, the film changes, too. It’s an immediate, sudden shift, where what came before is mostly jettisoned in favour of an entirely different tone, style and moral landscape. Robbie is still bothered by the same responsibilities, but after hearing about the recent discovery of a barrel of near-mythical, super-rare, Holy-Grail-of-Scotch whisky, he and a couple of his community service chums decide to take a trip up to the Highlands to, well, pilfer it and sell it to the highest bidder. That is not to say that the film isn’t funny, or that the cast isn’t superb. It is both, especially where lovable-dunce Albert (Gary Maitland) is concerned. However, quirky whimsy doesn’t suit Loach well, and such an approach starts to grate before the film skips toward its sickly-sentimental climax. True, it is admirable to see the director rip up his own rulebook so late in his career, but to do so mid-film is perhaps not the best way to do it. It comes off a little too much like havering. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
title: “The Angels Share Review” ShowToc: true date: “2025-08-25” author: “Nathan Cosby”
It doesn’t start so tweely, though, as The Angels’ Share opens with a bunch of Glasgow ragamuffins, sentenced to community service after an assortment of misconduct, from shoplifting to assault, from drunken-and-disorderly behaviour to dicking about on a train station platform. While we are at first introduced to this bunch as an ensemble, Loach soon homes in on young Robbie (Paul Brannigan), a lad with a temper who is given one last chance to get his life back on track. That is, until Harry (John Henshaw) comes into his life. No doubt the repeat recipient of the Scottish Social Worker of the Year Award, Harry wastes no time before taking Robbie under his wing, bussing him about when he should be painting the interiors of public buildings, and taking him and the group out on trips on his days off. One such display of warmth is to pass on his passion for whisky to Robbie, who, it turns out, is quite the natural. Before long, he’s developing his palette and pursuing this new-found hobby with life-changing enthusiasm. And, then, the film changes, too. It’s an immediate, sudden shift, where what came before is mostly jettisoned in favour of an entirely different tone, style and moral landscape. Robbie is still bothered by the same responsibilities, but after hearing about the recent discovery of a barrel of near-mythical, super-rare, Holy-Grail-of-Scotch whisky, he and a couple of his community service chums decide to take a trip up to the Highlands to, well, pilfer it and sell it to the highest bidder. That is not to say that the film isn’t funny, or that the cast isn’t superb. It is both, especially where lovable-dunce Albert (Gary Maitland) is concerned. However, quirky whimsy doesn’t suit Loach well, and such an approach starts to grate before the film skips toward its sickly-sentimental climax. True, it is admirable to see the director rip up his own rulebook so late in his career, but to do so mid-film is perhaps not the best way to do it. It comes off a little too much like havering. Follow Den Of Geek on Twitter right here. And be our Facebook chum here.
