Running time: 99 minutes
Starring: Jakub Tolak, Przemyslaw Sadowski, Alexis Raben, Shaun Dingwall
Rating 7 out of 10
Of the recent trio of films which have examined the immigrant experience in Britain - Shane Meadows' Somerstown and Suzie Halewood's Bigga Than Ben - Outlanders is arguably the best. For once we have a film that gets near the heart of what it might actually be like for the thousands of skilled and unskilled workers that have spoiled Daily Mail readers' breakfasts over the last few years.
It's not a pretty tale. Director Dominic Lees and screenwriter Jimmy Gardner have fashioned a warts and all look at a tough way of life, but thanks to Gardner's well-shaped script and some compelling central performances it never veers into sentimentality and remains believable throughout. It would be very easy for this sort of material to be patronising, especially in English hands, but this is firmly not the case.
The leading actors are Jakub Tolak and Przemyslaw Sadowski, both well-known in Poland and here making extremely confident English-language debuts. Tolak plays Adam, a young Pole who after the death of his father decides to travel West to find the older brother he has hero-worshipped all his life.
When Adam arrives in London everything seems rosy with his brother Jan, who has risen through the ranks and is running a profitable construction business. Money, fast cars and loose women are no object but as Adam soon realises they only come at the expense of others, namely the 'lumps' that Jan hires to do his menial work. He treats them badly, promises money but never actually pays them, and when a tragic accident occurs on the site, matters come to a head.
Jan is under observation by the local police's immigrant department (fronted by Shaun Dingwall) who points out that nobody cares about the workers' conditions apart from him. Meanwhile, Adam begins a putative romance with a Russian girl (another impressive performance by Alexis Raben).
Outlanders is not a cheery affair, and it's low-budget stuff, but it is far more honest than many of the films I have seen dealing with this issue. Anyone seeking a well-fashioned slice of social realism, which at times calls to mind the work of the Dardennes Brothers will be well rewarded, as it is certainly a film that makes you think.
Paul Hurley
It's not a pretty tale. Director Dominic Lees and screenwriter Jimmy Gardner have fashioned a warts and all look at a tough way of life, but thanks to Gardner's well-shaped script and some compelling central performances it never veers into sentimentality and remains believable throughout. It would be very easy for this sort of material to be patronising, especially in English hands, but this is firmly not the case.
The leading actors are Jakub Tolak and Przemyslaw Sadowski, both well-known in Poland and here making extremely confident English-language debuts. Tolak plays Adam, a young Pole who after the death of his father decides to travel West to find the older brother he has hero-worshipped all his life.
When Adam arrives in London everything seems rosy with his brother Jan, who has risen through the ranks and is running a profitable construction business. Money, fast cars and loose women are no object but as Adam soon realises they only come at the expense of others, namely the 'lumps' that Jan hires to do his menial work. He treats them badly, promises money but never actually pays them, and when a tragic accident occurs on the site, matters come to a head.
Jan is under observation by the local police's immigrant department (fronted by Shaun Dingwall) who points out that nobody cares about the workers' conditions apart from him. Meanwhile, Adam begins a putative romance with a Russian girl (another impressive performance by Alexis Raben).
Outlanders is not a cheery affair, and it's low-budget stuff, but it is far more honest than many of the films I have seen dealing with this issue. Anyone seeking a well-fashioned slice of social realism, which at times calls to mind the work of the Dardennes Brothers will be well rewarded, as it is certainly a film that makes you think.
Paul Hurley
