The Old Oak (2023)

My Review

“The Old Oak” is a UK drama movie about a pub owner in a once-thriving mining town in the north of England who is struggling to hold on to his business, the oldest pub in the area. Meanwhile, he strikes up a friendship with a Syrian woman and her children whose fellow refugees are also struggling to survive in a new land. British director Ken Loach put together an interesting human drama with two interesting storylines. The film is a little long at the nearly two hour running time; the well penned screenplay by Paul Laverty could have been shortened a bit.

The actors include Dave Turner, Elba Mari, Claire Rodgerson, Trevor Fox, Chris McGlade, Col Tait, Jordan Louis, Chrissie Robinson, Chris Gotts, Jen Patterson, Arthur Oxley, Joe Armstrong, Maxie Peters, Debbie Honeywood, Neil Leiper, and Andy Dawson as Mickey. The watchable social study “The Old Oak” was only modestly successful in theatrical release for BBC Film, Sixteen Films, StudioCanal (United Kingdom), Why Not Productions (France), and Les Films de Fleuve (Belgium).