Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, Ken Loach’s The Angels’ Share revisits the themes the prolific director first explored in 1969’s Kes and later in 2002’s Sweet Sixteen. With the number of unemployed young people reaching more than a million in Britain, here is a heist comedy set in the harsh reality of contemporary Glasgow, where youth who get off to a rough start see no way out and harbor no hope for the future. In an indirect indictment of a society that fails them, a small crew of petty criminals gets a fresh start by gaming the system rather than playing by the rules.
At the heart of the scheme is Robbie (Paul Brannigan), a young thug who’s already served jail time but lucks out when his latest bout of violence results in 300 hours of community “payback” rather than another prison sentence. Shortly into his service, his girlfriend Leonie (Siobhan Reilly) gives birth to his son, and Robbie is more determined than ever to make a new life for himself and his wee boy.
Discovered by screenwriter Paul Laverty as he researched the film, Brannigan brings life experience to his very first role. Like Robbie, the actor grew up amid violence and crime, served time as a juvenile, and as an adult found himself bitter and unemployed. Skinny and scrappy, with piercing blue eyes, he doesn’t just portray a thoughtful, intelligent, resourceful kid frustrated with and frightened of his own assaultive outbursts—he is that kid, bringing a depth of regret to a character whose circumstances aren’t entirely in his control.