LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1995 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 8.9
U.S. Availability: limited release 12/94-2/95 Running Length: 1:42 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Language, violence, mature themes)
Starring: Crissy Rock, Vladimir Vega, Sandie Lavelle, Mauricic Venegas Director: Ken Loach Producer: Sally Hibbin Screenplay: Rita Munro Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd Music: George Fenton Released by the Samuel Goldwyn Company
"Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home! Your house is on fire, your
children all gone..."
- Childrens' nursery rhyme
Theoretically, the function of the social worker is to help families through difficulties. In Ken Loach's latest, LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD, it's shown that good intentions don't always have beneficial results. Loach's films (such as RIFF-RAFF and RAINING STONES) are always doped with social commentary, and this one is no different. Here, the villain is a process that places regulations over human interests, where a child becomes a pawn in a struggle between the State and the Mother.
In this case, the Mother is Maggie (Crissy Rock), a passionate and lively woman with four children--each from a different liaison. The latest's father, with whom Maggie is now living, is violently abusive. To get away from him, Maggie checks into a woman's shelter, but an accident there nearly causes her oldest child to die in a fire, and the social agencies take all four children into custody. Court appearances turn into bitter shouting matches, and Maggie's offspring are placed into foster care.
Meanwhile, Maggie has met Jorge (Vladimir Vega), a rare "good" man. He's a political refugee from Paraguay whose English visa has expired. But he remains as an illegal alien and takes a low-paying job in order to stay with Maggie. Together, the two have a child (her fifth; his first), but social workers have long memories and all it takes is one nasty word from a nosy neighbor to put Maggie's maternal fitness in question once more.
As powerful and stinging a story as LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD is (and it's based on real events), it's the performance of Crissy Rock that makes the film work. Rock, a standup comic with no previous acting experience, is incredible. Her high-voltage rendering of Maggie is so emotionally volatile that the movie becomes a draining experience to view. You don't just watch Maggie; you experience along with her--and what she's going through isn't the sort of thing that anyone wants to be a part of.
The questions raised by LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD are compelling, if not unique. Loach frequently uses film to examine the inadequacies of the British social system, and here we're forced to consider the issue of when a woman is truly incapable of raising a child. While there seems to be reasonable justification for taking Maggie's first four offspring, what happens thereafter illustrates the kind of capricious horror that can occur when those in power don't really understand a situation.
Often, LADYBIRD, LADYBIRD is brutally unpleasant. However, Loach has never been known for lightweight movies, and comparisons between his work and Mike Leigh's NAKED are well-deserved. Those disturbed by that picture are unlikely to feel comfortable during LADYBIRD--but comfort certainly isn't what the director was aiming for. In large part because of Rock's performance, this production becomes far more than a simple tale of one woman's fight to raise a family. Instead, it's an unforgettable portrait of human anguish and the price that any society must pay when its best intentions go awry.
-James Berardinelli (jberardinell@delphi.com)
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