Looks and Smiles (1981) User Reviews

A battle to retain humanity in the desperation of 1980s Northern England

[elliottm-1 · 7/10 · 22 May 2006]

The low budget look and feel of this movie topped off by being shot in black and white gives a stark portrayal of the complete lack of opportunities for the young unemployed in the north of England in the early 1980s. This can be compared in some ways to "Love on the Dole", but it is even less romanticised in the way it deals with the curse of mass unemployment and the corrosive effects it has on a society that doesn't deserve it.

Two lads drift along in between signing on trying their best to retain their self respect and stay within the law. One of the lads decides his only way out is to join the army whereupon he is sent over to Northern Ireland. On returning home on leave, he exhibits the signs of having been brutalised by the experience as he talks with apparent relish about the savage treatment meted out by British soldiers during raids in Roman Catholic areas.

The other lad, Mick meanwhile has met a girl who despite having a job (in a shop), is troubled due to her parents having split up and her having arguments with her stressed out mother. When the girl decides to run away to see her father who now lives in Bristol, Mick decides to go with her. However, her father is now living with another woman and simply tells his daughter that she cannot stay with him.

On returning north, there is nothing new or different for Mick. The atmosphere of hopelessness is excellently captured along with the efforts the young characters make to rise above it. The result is what it sets out to be, namely a bleak allegory on the effects of economic recession and harsh government policies on people with no control over such things and little hope of escape other than being starved in to the armed forces in the same way that occurred before both of the world wars.

Looks & Smiles

[d_m_s · 7/10 · 3 May 2016]

Although it's gritty and kind of bleak, this is another enjoyable film from Ken Loach. Loach's old films never fail to amaze in that "I can't believe life was like that" kind of way. Even simple things, like the paper work and processes involved in looking for jobs and signing on have you shake your head in amazement at how things have changed (watching this reminded me of looking for jobs as a teen in the 90's and going through all those hand-written job vacancy notices, now replaced by electronic versions).

Seeing jobless people trying to make something of their lives in a harsh economic situation as it was in the 70's/80's is kind of bleak but this film was too interesting and is too good a document of the time to be depressing. The characters were good, the acting (as always with Loach films) is incredibly realistic and feels like you are watching real people. The directing and cinematography is great too.

Not as good as Riff Raff (my favourite Loach so far) or Kes but still very good and worth a watch.

Not a failure Mr. Loach

[tonypeacock-1 · 7/10 · 20 September 2019]

It is ironic that in the week that the most controversial British Prime Minister of the 20th Century villified by the left that I visited this rare Kenneth Loach film from the early 1980s shot in Sheffield, Northern England.

The subjects involved include youth unemployment, the Irish troubles and poverty all elements that are included in any sensible discussion on the legacy of Margaret Thatcher.

The film is shot in black and white which adds to the sense of gloom. The locations are from my childhood which adds a degree of sentimentality to proceedings but the subject matters are gloomy as they are meant to be and Channel 4 level social politics isn't my forte despite the Sheffield Wednesday vandalism.

A young 'Archie' from Emmerdale and that nurse off Children's Ward 'Mags' make appearances! For me a lesson in why not to follow the left wing sheep.

gritty gritty city

[ksf-2 · 6/10 · 15 May 2022]

In black and white. Mick and alan are looking for jobs, but can't find work. The bored, angry youth of england in the 1980s. At the same time, the religious and class differences only increased the violence all over the uk. Alan joins the military, but mick bums around town with his girlfriend. Tough times. It's okay. Kind of a snapshot of life in the hard-time 80s for high school grads looking for work. Directed by ken loach. He won the bafta for daniel blake. Story by barry hines.

What happens to workers when there's no work to do?

[Red-125 · 9/10 · 11 February 2020]

Looks and Smiles (1981) is an English film directed by Ken Loach. The film is set in the industrial midlands during the Margaret Thatcher years.

Graham Green (note that he's not the First Nations actor or the author) portrays Michael 'Mick' Walsh, a young man with mechanical talent who is ready to work. Unfortunately, work is hard to come by. Young men, without formal training, simply couldn't find a job.

Their options are limited: they can go on the dole, they can get into trouble, or they can join the army. One of Mick's friends does join the army, and gets sent to fight the IRA in Northern Ireland. He doesn't appear in many scenes, but, when he does, we can tell that he's become tougher and is losing his basic decency.

Carolyn Nicholson portrays Karen, a wonderful young woman who falls in love with Mick. She has a job, in a shoe store, but faces challenges at home. If Mick had a job, they could make it work. But . . .

Loach is a skilled director and he makes us care about Mick and Karen. Unfortunately, the government doesn't care about them, and that's the sad, basic problem.

We saw this film on the small screen, where it worked very well. It carries a weak IMDb rating of 6.9. I'm not sure why the rating is that low. I think it's much better than that.