Review of Oranges and Sunshine (2010) by Dickie L — 04 Jun 2011

Proving to be a chip off the old Loachian block, director Jim shows the same commitment to social critism and a no-frills, understated approach as his legendary old man, Ken. Dealing with the emotive subject of English children being taken from their mothers and deported to Australia in the 50s and 60s, Loach thankfully avoids mawkishness. Instead he lets the facts speak for themselves. If anything, the accumulation of details is a tad slow and procedural. Emily Watson does a reliably sturdy job as the social worker uncovering the scandal and Hugo Weaving is very.

Effective as one of the former child deportees. Good use is made of the bi-hemispherical locations and Lisa Gerrard's music, which can sometimes overpower, is beautifully restrained. A few scenes are quietly powerful but this doesn't really hit the emotional wallop that you expect it to.