Raining Stones

Plot

Bob (Bruce Jones) lives with his wife Anne (Julie Brown) and his daughter Coleen (Gemma Phoenix) in a poor English town. Bob scrapes by with whatever odd jobs come his way -- working as a bouncer, stealing green turf, cleaning septic tanks. Although Bob has no money and is living on the dole, he is determined to buy his daughter a dress for her first communion. The local parish priest (Tom Hickey) suggests that Bob settle cheaper and get a second-hand dress for Coleen's communion. But Bob will have none of that. Bob wants a new dress for his daughter, and no matter what it takes he will get a dress for her. Unfortunately, Bob has only murky ideas about how to earn the money to buy it. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Review

Social realist director Ken Loach continued his early 1990s resurgence with another unflinching look at modern-day, working class Britain. Though the film's plot is as simple as a fable -- a proud father fumbles his way through odd jobs to buy his daughter a communion dress -- Loach undermines the potential for slapstick humor and saccharine sentiment. When Stones veers into darker, more tragic territory in its third act, the shift feels organic to the characters and their economic situation. Loach again proves his skill at nurturing unprofessional talent: newcomer Bruce Jones dovetails perfectly with such experienced character actors as Tom Hickey. Stones garnered Loach another Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, following his win in 1990 for Hidden Agenda. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Cast

• Bruce Jones - Bob
• Julie Brown - Anne
• Ricky Tomlinson - Tommy
• Tom Hickey - Father Barry
• Gemma Phoenix - Coleen

Jonathan James - Tansey; George Moss - Dean; William Ash - Joe

Credit

Fergus Clegg - Art Director, Ken Loach - Director, Jonathan Morris - Editor, Stewart Copeland - Composer (Music Score), Martin Johnson - Production Designer, Barry Ackroyd - Cinematographer, Sally Hibbin - Producer, Jim Allen - Screenwriter

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