CountZero313 Robbie, a young man on a community payback scheme trying to turn his life around for the sake of his newborn son, comes up with a plan to give him a financial head start. He recruits his fellow offenders to his caper.The Glasgow-set collaborations of Ken Loach and Paul Laverty always sit somewhere on a spectrum that runs between socialist realist politics and crowd-pleasing mischief. This outing sits more towards the crowd-pleasing end. As such, the young protagonist's underclass credentials are evidenced merely by his scars, tracksuit and chest-puffing in the face of his adversaries. His partner only ever speaks to him about pulling up his socks for their child; stilted, clunky exchanges that supply information and do nothing for characterisation. The young woman's thuggish family are cardboard cut-out neds who speak in clichés. So, characterisation is simplistic and dialogue always pure exposition. However, anyone looking for some pay off in the plot will be sorely disappointed. It is pretty obvious from the beginning how things will play out, with the exception of one genuinely surprising, and humanistic, twist. At one point Robbie is being chased by bad guys when his father-in-law incredulously appears like Batman in his Nedmobile to rescue him, before snarling more ned clichés at him. Paul Brannigan as Robbie has a certain look and charisma, but he can't act. The young actor's story, in many respects paralleling the character he plays, is touching, and perhaps Loach and Laverty are using cinema to smuggle in some kind of social rehabilitation programme for worthy but underprivileged young men. But one part of me wishes they'd use real actors, or at least send their discoveries to acting school before filming starts.As someone who grew up in inner-city Glasgow I always feel I *should* like these Loach/Laverty films, and wonder if my conflicted emotions come from the part of me that is Glasgow. But 'The Angel's Share' has made up my mind for me - these films are just below-par cinema. I get that the script is meant to be a fable, but not one line of dialogue stayed with me, or resonated to a deeper place. The characters, like those in 'My Name is Joe', are all meant to be lovable rapscallions, but the visceral violence that can be a very real event in Glasgow is not represented here, and the truly pitiful aspects of these young men's pathetic and self-destructive delusions about 'masculinity' require a complexity of portrayal that seems beyond these filmmakers. There is a psychology and dialectic at work that defies easy ideological explanation, but that ease is all Loach and Laverty ever reach for. Loach's so-called naturalistic directing is simply workmanlike camera-work that fails to add shade or depth to character. I can't think of one shot in this film that struck me as cinematic.I applaud the good intentions of Loach and Laverty, but their execution is sorely lacking. I think the praise they garner comes more from the middle class guilt of broadsheet critics, and the desperate relief of disenfranchised Glaswegians at ANY attempt at all to portray their lives on screen. Wooden acting, under-realised framing, and a flat, under-developed script - apart from a few chuckles at comments by dim-witted characters, what exactly is there to like here? What is this film doing that was not done by Bill Forsyth 30 years ago, only ten times better? These filmmakers need to be judged by the same standards that apply to the likes of Kevin Macdonald, Edgar Wright and Christopher Nolan. Glasgow is a great city that lends itself to cinema, and its people have a myriad of human tales to tell. It is a potential criminally untapped by Loach and Laverty.

l_rawjalaurence Set in contemporary Glasgow, THE ANGELS' SHARE does not shy away from portraying the squalid reality of many young peoples' lives. Robbie (Paul Brannigan) has to complete long hours of community service, together with his friends Rhino (William Ruane), Albert (Gary Maitland) and Mo (Jasmin Riggins), while having to cope with the perpetual threat of attack from long-time adversary Clancy (Scott Kyle). However Robbie's 'minder' Harry (John Henshaw), who supervises him on his community service, introduces Robbie to the intricacies of scotch whisky, and Robbie's life is transformed as a result. In an attempt to improve his life, he becomes involved in an elaborate plot to steal an exceptionally rare brand of Scotch from a Highland distillery. While Paul Laverty's screenplay does not shy away from the seamier sides of Glasgow life, it nonetheless suggests that people can be redeemed, so long as they are provided with moral as well as emotional support. Harry seems an unlikely figure in this respect, but his basic honesty stands out in a film full of shady characters. The four youngsters (Robbie and his friends) are totally convincing in their roles - so much so that we share their pleasure when their scheme eventually succeeds and they can look forward to a better life, however transient that might be.

annuskavdpol Angels' Share is a good movie about a group of individuals who did something wrong within society and then who were caught and were put to payback to society by means of community work and payback. It is a good movie about how a bond within a group can create a team and how a team can enable a group of individuals, or at least one of the individuals to transform himself and get himself out of trouble and on to the straight and narrow. This movie is about redemption in a sense of retribution and perhaps it is about the gaining of insight into a previous idea - an idea that was not working and hence needed to be curbed. Angels' Share does have a cool depth to it. Something very unique in this trace of film-making.

prys2007 The Angel's Share is a tale of struggle and hope through deprivation where there seems no way out. Robbie (Paul Brannigan) faces time behind bars for assault unless he can turn his life around. With no family, except for the one he is trying to create with his girlfriend, Robbie meets new friends while serving the community and a father figure in Harry (John Henshaw).Robbie first has to deal with his violent past as enemies are out for revenge while his girlfriend's father wants to get rid of him. Harry introduces him, and the other colourful juveniles, to a different side to Scotland through its heritage and national drink: Whisky! The making of in this case. Discovering a hidden nose for the dram Robbie becomes gripped by the Whisky connoisseur way of life so different from his own. He impresses Harry with his enthusiasm and skill and also a Whisky collector Thaddeus (Roger Allam). Robbie is himself impressed by a particularly rare malt being sold for a high price in the Highlands. Robbie decides he needs money for his new family and he needs it quick so he and his pals pack their bags, don their kilts and see what they can do about this vintage malt...I like the way Ken Loach makes films e.g. getting the script out only on the day of filming, as it creates spontaneity and real character from the actors. I thought Paul Brannigan was excellent for an amateur and brought his own troubled experiences through in a way that was genuine and heart-felt. I loved the characters in this film delivered by excellent comic actors with great timing. The Angel's Share is about struggle, friendship and Whisky so what's not to love? If I was trying to be funny at this point in the review I would say it's Glasgow's answer to Sideways (2004)...