Ken Lodge seems to have always had a tendency to drown himself in the "pain" that will exist in society. For decades, he has been so focused on portraying pain. Behind the simple life flow narrative, there is a sense of pattern consciousness. This film also continues Ken Lodge's realism style, documentary photography, a large number of medium and close shots, and draws on grand social issues from the perspective of the family. In fact, many life-streaming movies tend to become lengthy soap operas, or there is another situation. The director always adds some artificial narrative power to deliberately raise the pattern of such movies, and this movie avoids the above two In the minefield, Ken Rocky stripped away a lot of subjective logic and truly became the Ricky family. Instead of letting the movie manipulate the changes in life, he let the characters drive the course of the event. Before the end, just like the characters, No one can predict how the pain will end up. Although there is no lack of dramatic color in this film, it makes people feel more real.
The story told by the movie is as simple as ever. In order to earn more salary, blue-collar worker Ricky switched to the express industry and became a delivery worker. In order to pay for the purchase of the truck, her wife Abby had to sell her car. They have a sensible 11-year-old daughter, Liza, and a son Seb, who is in a rebellious youth. Ken Lodge used only a minimalist story to present a multi-dimensional orientation: father-son contradiction, family education, growing troubles, gig economy, exploitative labor market... these clues are intertwined and crisscrossed. Melodrama-style presentation, without too many tactics in the editing, all in accordance with the order of the norms, the documentary nature of the fictional story can be amplified multiple times. Even though the character’s plight is full of drama, the tragedy of the Ricky family ensued, the son’s defect, the boss’s death call, the continued fermentation of the punishment mechanism... as if all the burdens of the world fell on this tragic family, but we Still feel very real. A large part of this is due to the editing and photography style full of chronological essence.
The film is positioned in Newcastle. Choosing such an ancient industrial city has the intention of its own director. In an era when the Internet is sweeping the world, Newcastle will naturally not escape the baptism of technology. The courier work of the protagonist Ricky is closely related to this kind of innovation. Using the Internet of Things technology, every package is under surveillance, tracking, and positioning. These highly professional processes are deeply imprinted into the lifeblood of the express industry. The protagonists speak a very heavy northern accent, which is Ken Lodge's usual means of suggesting the education and status of the characters.
The director did not deliberately create "life and death" to shape the "sorrow" contained in the film. On the contrary, under a very natural image, the film's "sorrow" is shrouded and restrained by a sense of powerless fatalism. After a family quarrel, Abby said to his son Seb: "We work hard." But such hard work has resulted in an escalation of contradictions and aggravation of misfortune. The more you want to get rid of the infinite cycle of life, the more the Ricky family will be. Deep in such a quagmire, Ken Rocky’s restrained lens is permeated with a heavy sense of collapse. The unremarkable story goes on, and the bitterness of life slowly dissipates, and then long scars are laid. Ken Lodge's movies are often made in a state of contradiction, the template of life. The rebellious Seb corresponds to the endless confusion of youth. He is a bad boy in traditional society. He went to graffiti with his friends in the middle of the night, but do you say he is a bad person? After his father Ricky was beaten up, Seb carefully asked his father about his injury many times, and it was him who stood in front of his father's delivery van. Ricky worked desperately 14 hours a day to support his family. After his son got into trouble, he beat him. But this seemingly useless father, in order to protect his son, withdrew from work and rushed home from work. These subtle and moving moments create a "sensational" atmosphere, which is the most powerful part of the movie.
And the "British humor" interspersed in the first half of the film may refer to the typical British low-level people's mentality of having fun in the midst of suffering. As a Manchester native, Ricky almost got up when he met a Newcastle fan during the delivery; the happy time of her daughter Liza delivering with her father...the self-deprecating style, and the objective environment of the undercurrent surging under calm. They complement each other, so I can’t agree with the accusation that the characters in Ken Rock’s film are too rigid.
Different from the fragmented family structure in the previous Ken Rocky movies, the family structure in this film is complete, even though the seemingly harmonious family environment is actually dangerous. On the surface, the conflict between Ricky and his son was caused by barriers to understanding and communication, but at a deeper level, it was caused by the overall social environment. Each intensification of contradictions was accompanied by the heavier and heavier economy on Ricky's shoulders. burden. The irony is that every effort Ricky tries to resolve family conflicts is at the cost of "exploited" at work. The antagonistic relationship between family and work is so difficult to mediate. The whole society is filled with the smell of “egoism” and “above the benefits” of money. Under this economic system, all behaviors will be transformed into cold performance. The standards are set by the groups at the top of the food chain. Once the behaviors and standards Decoupling, disaster will be given a multiplier effect.
Behind this, it reflects the "gig economy" that is increasingly becoming a new economic model. Under the favorable market landscape, Ken Lodge has revealed its "exploiting nature". This model is becoming a new model. The sword of Damocles of the age. The so-called gig economy refers to an economic field composed of freelancers who can freely allocate their time and resources. Such characteristics have even made the "gig economy" gain the reputation of "equivalence economy". However, under the liberalized work model, what is hidden is exploitationism. Not surprisingly, the labor of laborers must be linked to labor standards (the number of products produced, just like the number delivered by Ricky in the movie). In other words, laborers become slaves to the products, and their time is seriously affected by the output quantity standards. Constraints. Once the fulfillment fails, the end will be the same as Ricky. The rules of the gig economy game actually rob laborers of more freedom. In the film, even if Ricky is sent to the ER, the boss is still concerned about the fine, and the individual's life is at best the indifferent numbers in the economic system. Franchise, the word spoken by the boss, is like the mantra of modern economic society, pushing the tiny low-level laborers into the abyss of immortality.
Is it forbearance or resistance? Ken Lodge gave a realistic answer and continued to work non-stop. Such an answer is so deep that it is creepy. At the end, Ricky drove the truck called the "oxygen supply machine" in the chaos, and embarked on the road of "redemption". What he is burdened is the life and death of the family and the high debts. Compared with these, His life is like straw. But when the wind blows, they just float in the air and land in the damp soil, still with humble toughness. I remembered the "Boy Boy" by the Darnet brothers. At the end, the boy took the dilapidated bicycle and escaped into the lonely tunnel of growth. The same came to an abrupt end, telling of wounds that were difficult to heal.
When it comes to film problems, I think the only shortcoming is that this one-way accusation against capitalism tends to fall into a fixed pattern, which leads to the aesthetic fatigue of the audience.
Ever since, when the film that speaks for the working class has long been reduced to the cliche among the film critics, Ken Rocky still immersed himself in his enthusiasm. In the post-industrial era of economic downturn and collapse of faith, he, like Dostoyevsky, was persistently searching for answers to life. Under the cold system, how can one's value and enthusiasm be consumed? From this perspective, this film shows just such a ruthless and cruel process. Fortunately, in addition to the rolling and crushing of society, the family still shines with moving cohesion.
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