For over fifty years, Ken Loach’s films have become synonymous with working-class life in Britain, his important ‘kitchen-sink’ stories giving a cinematic voice to the undervalued. It would appear that he’s ready to call it a day, the veteran filmmaker stating that his 2023 drama The Old Oak would be his last.
The latest feature from his production company is On Falling, marking the debut of writer and director Laura Carreira. Set in and around Edinburgh, the social-realist plot follows the humdrum routine of Aurora (Joana Santos), a Portuguese migrant that works long hours as a warehouse picker for an unnamed conglomerate. Struggling to make ends meet, she becomes increasingly lonely and worn down by her daily grind.
It’s not the first time pictures of this ilk have taken a swipe at the harsh conditions of the gig-economy; we even saw the aforementioned Loach make Sorry We Missed You in 2019 which focused on the plight of a hard-up delivery driver. This intimate tale of woe has a specificity and authenticity captured by the Scotland-based director, who has drawn from her own background within the script. In a dehumanising visual metaphor that’s somewhat lacking in subtlety, she is one of the hundreds of thousands of cardboard boxes in the soulless workplace; a little beaten, uncared for, and left discarded on the conveyor belt of modern society.
Holding the film together as her character’s mental health is unravelling, Joana Santos gives a quietly moving performance as Aurora. Navigating social and financial problems, we see her initially optimistic mood gradually decline, leading to an emotionally-charged job interview scene that is quite difficult to watch. She’s joined by a supporting cast of naturalistic actors, giving a cinéma-vérité effect as she interacts with the mostly well-meaning Scots around her. In his first appearance on film, newcomer Piotr Sikora is particularly great as her salt-of-the-earth flatmate, Kris – he offers a smile, a bottle of beer, and kind support while she’s running out of people to turn to.
Smartly crafted if a little rough around the edges, On Falling signals the beginning of a compelling new era in social-realist cinema – the torch has been passed to director Laura Carreira who impresses with her bleak depiction of the immigrant experience.
Cinema Perspective 