Set in a gritty London of the 1960s, Ken Loach’s debut British New Wave masterpiece sees Joy (Carol White) living a life filled with bad choices.
Joy marries and has a child with an abusive thief, Tom (John Bindon), who soon ends up in prison. She searches for just a glimmer of happiness, which appears to come when she meets Tom's seemingly caring associate, Dave (Terence Stamp). When he too ends up in prison, Joy then takes up with a series of seedy types who offer nothing but momentary pleasure. And then her son goes missing.
Vividly evocative of its time, this unlikely box office hit retains its freshness and exceptional period detail and marks the beginning of a British movement in social realist filmmaking. Ken Loach has gone on to direct countless highly acclaimed films, including his most recent Palme d’Or winner, I, Daniel Blake.
