MOVIE REVIEW : ‘Stones’: Pouring Out Passion of the Working Class

Ken Loach has a taste for humanity and a gift for involvement. The most influential of living British directors, an inspiration to filmmakers as diverse as Neal Jordan, Stephen Frears and Mike Leigh, Loach has been working with a minimum of fuss and a maximum of compassion for close to 30 years. “Raining Stones” is his latest film, and one of his best.

Winner of a Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1993, “Stones” is in the tradition of previous Loach films like “Cathy Come Home,” “Kes” and the recent “Riff-Raff.” All share a passionate and sympathetic view of Britain’s underclass, a belief that, as a character in this film puts it, “When you’re a worker, it rains stones seven days a week.”

Committed though he is, Loach is the furthest thing from grimly doctrinaire or dogmatic. His sympathy for people at the margins of society is always intensely dramatic, and, much like his subjects, his more recent films show an understanding that humor can be present in even the most despairing situations.

“Raining Stones” was shot in an economically depressed area in the north of England, a locale familiar to the film’s working-class screenwriter, Jim Allen. And, in an act of faith that has had almost magical consequences, it was also cast locally with nonprofessional actors who understand and handle their parts perfectly.

Focus of all the attention is Bob Williams (Bruce Jones) and his wife, Anne (Julie Brown). On the dole though they are, Bob and his buddy Tommy (Ricky Tomlinson) are always embroiled in doomed schemes to earn a few quick pounds, like the plot to kidnap and sell a few good sheep that opens the picture.

Goodhearted but not lucky, Bob is struck by an unexpected misfortune just as a special need for money arises. His darling daughter Coleen (Gemma Phoenix) is about to celebrate her first communion, and close to 100 pounds will be needed to properly outfit her.

Though not particularly religious, it is a matter of fiery pride to Bob that Coleen look perfect on “the most important day of her life.” So “Raining Stones” takes the simple route of following Bob as he attempts to raise the needed funds.

Loach does this with great deftness, as Bob tries his hand at cleaning drains, digging up bootleg turf and other decidedly odd jobs. Tommy accompanies him on most of these quests, and as played by Tomlinson (“Riff-Raff’s” chagrined bathtub man) he brings humor to every situation. Comic stories about small boys and Lourdes bubble out of him, and when the seller of an old van insists it only had one owner, he cracks, “Who was it, Ben-Hur?”

But even at its funniest, “Raining Stones” never forgets the pained reality that underlies the humor. Loach and Allen understand how desperate these people are to better themselves and break the cycle of poverty, and how awfully difficult that can be. Caught between the sporadic solace of the church and the anger of the local grass-roots leaders, Bob finds himself “just ducking and weaving, trying to keep my head above water.”

Both playful and sad, often at the same time, “Raining Stones” also has moments of lacerating power. Plainly unforgettable is a blistering visit to the Williams house by a character named Tansey (Jonathan James), a sequence that is shocking in its bluntness and lack of compromise.

If “Raining Stones” has a problem, at least for American audiences, it is the performers’ thick North Country accents that make it difficult to completely catch what is said. But though a word gets lost now and again, the gist is never in question, and time here is considerably better spent than with those too numerous films where you can follow everything but desperately wish you couldn’t.

* MPAA rating: Unrated. Times guidelines: It includes adult situations and a sequence of considerable emotional intensity.

‘Raining Stones’

Bruce Jones: Bob

Julie Brown: Anne

Ricky Tomlinson: Tommy

Tom Hickey: Father Barry

Gemma Phoenix: Coleen

Mike Fallon: Jimmy

David Mazor & John Lawrence Re & Film Four International present a Parallax Pictures production, released by Northern Arts Entertainment. Director Ken Loach. Producer Sally Hibbin. Screenplay Jim Allen. Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd. Editor Jonathan Morris. Costumes Anne Sinclair. Music Stewart Copeland. Production design Martin Johnson. Art director Fergus Clegg. Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.

* In limited release at Laemmle’s Music Hall, 9036 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, (310) 274-6869.