--- title: "Sorry We Missed You: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/sorry-we-missed-you/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/sorry-we-missed-you" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 23 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Sorry We Missed You (2019): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 23 reviews: 17 positive, 3 mixed, 3 negative. Most critics find Sorry We Missed You an affecting, angry account of how gig-economy work strains family life. Praise centres on the cast’s natural, understated performances and Ken Loach’s attention to the daily pressures of precarious employment. Paul Laverty’s researched script also earns approval for making working conditions concrete. For many reviewers, the domestic detail, humour and compassion make the political case persuasive rather than merely instructive. The spread is wide, though, and the chief disagreement concerns how heavily the story loads hardship onto its family. Even some favourable reviews find the accumulating setbacks melodramatic or the plotting too calculated. Little White Lies sees a relevant social critique weakened by blunt, soapy storytelling, while The New Yorker goes further, arguing that the characters lack independent voices and fuller lives. The divide is between critics who find the family convincingly observed and those who see people reduced to illustrations of exploitation. ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 94/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2019. Festival review. Rooney calls the film expertly judged, profoundly humane, and deeply affecting. He singles out its emotionally devastating portrayal of how gig-economy work damages family life. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/sorry-we-missed-you-cannes-2019-1211221/) ## Screen Daily — Lee Marshall Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2019. Festival review. Marshall calls it one of Ken Loach’s best films. He singles out Loach’s continued collaboration with writer Paul Laverty. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/sorry-we-missed-you-cannes-review/5139521.article) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2019. Festival review. Bradshaw calls the film brilliant, gripping and emotionally devastating, while noting a political qualm about its treatment of Brexit. He praises the performances’ simple dignity and the film’s vivid, researched portrayal of precarious work. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/may/16/sorry-we-missed-you-review-ken-loach) ## Variety — Shalini Dore Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 May 2019. Festival review. Dore finds the film a fraught, touching, and galvanizing drama about the gig economy’s damage to working families. She particularly praises Loach’s lived-in depiction of precarious labor and its growing strain on family life. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/sorry-we-missed-you-review-ken-loach-1203217397/) ## Slant Magazine — Pat Brown Rating 3.5/4. 2 March 2020. Brown calls the film a powerful, enraged appeal for action against the forces eroding workers’ rights. The review praises its understated, realistic performances and its portrayal of how precarious work damages family life. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/sorry-we-missed-review-ken-loach/) ## Los Angeles Times — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 5 March 2020. A blisteringly human and emotionally wrenching film, the review says, makes its critique of modern work feel honest rather than schematic. It singles out the central cast’s gritty, humorous and sensitive performances as a source of the family drama’s force. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-03-05/sorry-we-missed-you-review-ken-loach) ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Rating 4/5. 16 May 2019. Festival review. Sexton calls the film first-rate agit-prop, praising its forceful attack on the gig economy. He highlights Abbie’s angry speech as a particularly powerful moment. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-2019-sorry-we-missed-you-review-ken-loach-takes-on-the-gig-economy-in-hard-hitting-drama-a4142901.html) ## Radio Times — Trevor Johnston Rating 4/5. Johnston presents the film as a grimly compelling critique of the gig economy. He singles out Paul Laverty’s thoroughly researched script for praise. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-aywdvc/sorry-we-missed-you/) ## The i Paper — Demetrios Matheou Rating ★★★★. 30 October 2019. Matheou finds the film an angry, shaming and essential drama about exploitation in the gig economy. He particularly praises the inexperienced actors and Loach’s handling of them, while noting that the family’s personal failings also contribute to its crisis. [Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/sorry-we-missed-you-review-ken-loach-uk-release-date-357082) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 4/5. 16 May 2019. Calhoun finds Ken Loach in blistering form, calling the film a gripping indictment of the modern gig economy. He singles out its forceful critique of the conditions facing workers in that economy. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/sorry-we-missed-you) ## Total Film — Jordan Farley Rating 4/5. 1 November 2019. Farley praises the film as a powerful, righteous indictment of the gig economy. He singles out the unknown cast’s convincing performances, while noting that some family setbacks veer into melodrama. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/sorry-we-missed-you-review/) ## IndieWire — Eric Kohn Rating B. 16 May 2019. Festival review. Kohn finds the film a timely, poignant portrait of working-class hardship, despite its overly calculated and didactic plot. He praises the performances, particularly Debbie Honeywood’s commanding work in the final stretch. [Read the review](https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/sorry-we-missed-you-review-ken-loach-cannes-2019-1202141882/) ## Empire — Beth Webb Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 28 October 2019. Webb regards the film as a crucial, empathetic and timely rallying cry, despite its relentless tone. She praises its compassion for the family and its vivid depiction of gig-economy pressures, while finding Seb’s character arc excessive. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/sorry-we-missed-you/) ## Sight and Sound — Trevor Johnston Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 October 2019. Johnston finds the film a nuanced, troubling and accomplished portrait of austerity and the gig economy. He praises its adept construction and unshowy direction for letting the family’s experiences carry the film’s ideas. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/sorry-we-missed-you-review-ken-loach-counts-cost-striving-austerity-britain) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating B-. 5 March 2020. Dowd finds the film an involving, empathetic portrait of working-class life, but says its relentless piling-on turns its message into self-parody. He praises the carefully observed family moments, the cast, and the humor in Ricky’s customer encounters. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/ken-loach-grinds-another-honest-man-under-the-cruel-gea-1842102000) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 4 March 2020. Ebiri finds the film enraging but deeply compassionate, calling it one of Loach’s best. He praises its vivid, humane portrait of people caught in the gig economy’s machinery. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2020/03/movie-review-ken-loachs-sorry-we-missed-you.html) ## RogerEbert.com Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page could not be accessed, so its critical verdict is unavailable. No praise or complaint can be verified from the supplied content. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/sorry-we-missed-you-movie-review-2020) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). The page exposes no critic verdict, so its assessment cannot be established. No specific praise or complaint is available in the accessible text. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/04/movies/sorry-we-missed-you-review.html) ## Little White Lies — Adam Woodward Rating 3/2/1. 28 October 2019. The critic finds the film’s social critique relevant but undermined by blunt, soapy storytelling. He singles out Maloney’s callous speech as a standout scene, while faulting the film’s heavy-handed delivery. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/sorry-we-missed-you) ## The New Yorker — Richard Brody Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 6 March 2020. Brody argues that the film’s empathy for its working-class characters feels artificial and reduces them to ciphers. He faults Loach for suppressing their voices and leaving their wider lives and perspectives largely absent. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/the-way-back-and-sorry-we-missed-you-reviewed-two-oblivious-depictions-of-the-working-class) ## Paste — Andy Crump Rating 8.9/10. 30 April 2020. Crump praises the film as an incisive, anger-provoking portrayal of working-class lives trapped by the gig economy. He singles out its humanizing depiction of the delivery and care work that underpins consumer convenience. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/ken-loach/sorry-we-missed-you-review) ## HeyUGuys Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). The critic finds the film an effective, bleak portrait of gig-economy hardship, despite occasional weaknesses in the acting. They praise the natural performances of the young actors and the documentary-like visuals. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/sorry-we-missed-you-review-2-ken-loach/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 4 March 2019. The critic finds the drama timely but blunt and wearying, with little fresh to say. They praise the natural performances, especially Debbie Honeywood’s profane, crowd-pleasing outburst. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/sorry-we-missed-you-film-review-once-again-ken-loach-sings-the-working-class-blues/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/sorry-we-missed-you.md