---
title: "The Old Oak"
year: 2023
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-old-oak"
fi1m_id: "the-old-oak"
imdb_id: "tt19883634"
tmdb_id: 970348
wikidata_id: "Q117662296"
fi1m_score: 65
critics_score: 68
critics_reviews: 17
published: "2026-09-10"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:05.073670+00:00"
region: "US"
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."
---

# The Old Oak (2023)

Directed by Ken Loach · 1h 53m · Drama

## Identity

The Old Oak

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/the-old-oak
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** the-old-oak
- **IMDb ID:** tt19883634
- **TMDB ID:** 970348
- **Wikidata ID:** Q117662296
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19883634/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/970348, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q117662296

**Fi1m score: 65** · Critics 68 from 17 reviews

*In a sentence:* Every man at the bar has a grievance and a paragraph to go with it; the woman with the camera has neither and wins

> Ken Loach’s drama about Syrian refugees arriving in a dying pit village is plainly made and occasionally moving, and half its characters talk like leaflets. Dave Turner and Ebla Mari carry it further than the script deserves.

## Synopsis

TJ Ballantyne (Dave Turner) keeps the only pub still open in a former pit village in the north-east of England, where the terraces are being sold off cheap and the regulars have little left but the bar. A coach of Syrian refugees arrives to fill some of the empty houses. Among them is Yara (Ebla Mari), a young woman with a camera, and the welcome she gets at the kerb is not warm. TJ helps her, then keeps helping, and the two of them find a use for the pub’s locked back room. Charlie (Trevor Fox) and the men at the bar have other ideas. Ken Loach directs from a screenplay by Paul Laverty.

## Review

Ken Loach and his screenwriter Paul Laverty have gone back to the north-east of England for a third time, after *I, Daniel Blake* and *Sorry We Missed You*, and this time they have taken on a whole village rather than a family. A coach of Syrian refugees arrives in a former pit village where the terraces are being sold off cheap and the pub is the only one left. *The Old Oak* is about what happens when the landlord decides to help the newcomers and his regulars decide he has betrayed them. It is decent, honest work with two good people at the centre of it, and it lectures us more often than it shows us. We came out moved, and slightly cross, because the film had told us how to feel about as often as it had made us feel it.

Dave Turner plays TJ Ballantyne as a big, tired man who has stopped expecting anything and is kind before he has decided to be. He moves behind the bar as if he has been doing it for thirty years, which is what the part needs, and he can let a whole conversation happen on his face while somebody else does the talking. Ebla Mari’s Yara is the film’s other asset: watchful, careful with her English, quick to put the camera between herself and a street that stares at her. When the two of them are alone in the pub’s shut-up back room, looking at old photographs of the miners’ strike, the film stops explaining itself and simply watches, and it is a much better film for those minutes.

Fergus Clegg’s back room is the best set in it, dust sheets over the tables and the strike photographs still up on the walls, a place the village stopped using and never cleared. Robbie Ryan shoots the whole thing at eye level in whatever light the windows give, grey street and brown bar, and never draws attention to himself, which is the Loach way and suits the material. Jo Slater dresses the regulars in football shirts and anoraks that have not been new for a long time. The first shared meal in that room, plates passed down trestle tables under the photographs, is the scene that got us. We had been resisting the film for an hour, and then a room full of people with nothing to say to each other sat down and ate, and we found we had stopped resisting.

The trouble is the bar. Charlie (Trevor Fox), Vic (Chris McGlade), Eddy (Col Tait) and Gary (Jordan Louis) are each handed a grievance and each states it whole: the house prices, the handouts, the charity that never came for them. Laverty has written these men as a radio phone-in, and Loach’s non-professional cast, so good when asked to be, are asked here to deliver arguments and cannot make them sound like things people say over a pint. We winced through several of these exchanges. The film knows these men have been abandoned and says so, repeatedly, and it never quite lets them be anything but the case for the prosecution.

George Fenton’s score stays out of the way for most of the running time and then arrives in the last stretch to make sure we know how to feel, which by then we did. Jonathan Morris cuts as Loach films always cut, letting scenes run to their natural end without hurry, and that patience is generous to Turner and Mari and merciless to the weaker players, whose pauses become visible. The second half also piles on misfortune faster than the village can plausibly absorb it, and takes a turn we will not describe.

Against the two films before it, this is the softest and the least precise. *I, Daniel Blake* had one man and one form and followed them to the end; *Sorry We Missed You* had one van. *The Old Oak* has a whole village to look after and a point to make, and it keeps stopping the village to make the point. Most critics have been a little kinder than this and some far harsher; the two leads have been praised nearly everywhere, and rightly.

See it for Turner, for Mari, and for that back room. Go in knowing you will be told what to think, and that the telling is at least in a good cause. It runs 113 minutes and carries a 15.

*Fi1m score 65, published 10 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

Most critics take The Old Oak as Ken Loach’s farewell and judge it with that in mind, which explains both the warmth and the disappointment. The praise clusters around Loach’s compassion and the two leads, with Dave Turner and Ebla Mari singled out for lived-in, unforced work; several reviews also admire the film’s picture of a boarded-up former mining village and its plain call for solidarity between locals and Syrian refugees.

The reservations are consistent across the board: a heavy-handed script, supporting characters written as mouthpieces, uneven turns from the non-professional cast, and a tendency to sentiment. The spread is wide, and American reviews are warmer than British ones. The Times finds the plotting clunky and the dialogue facile, The Telegraph calls it the weakest of his north-east trilogy, Little White Lies calls it didactic, and The i Paper says good politics do not always make good films. Variety, more sympathetically, thinks a strong start softens into wish-fulfilment.

## Straight answers

**Is The Old Oak worth watching?**

*The Old Oak* is worth watching for anyone who can forgive Ken Loach a lecture, and we scored it 65. Dave Turner and Ebla Mari are the reason to see it, along with the pub's dust-sheeted back room where the film stops explaining itself. The men at the bar, each handed a grievance and a speech, are the reason to hesitate.

**How long is The Old Oak, and what is it rated?**

*The Old Oak* runs 1h 53m. It is a drama film.

**Where can I watch The Old Oak in the US?**

*The Old Oak* is streaming on The Roku Channel and Amazon Prime Video in the US. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is The Old Oak, and is it suitable for children?**

*The Old Oak* carries a UK 15 certificate and is a drama, not a thriller, so there is nothing designed to frighten. The hostility the Syrian refugees meet at the kerb, the hard talk in the bar and a second half that piles on misfortune make it too bleak for children. Teenagers who can sit with a slow, argumentative film will manage it.

**How does The Old Oak compare to I, Daniel Blake?**

*The Old Oak* is the softer and less precise of the two, and [*I, Daniel Blake*](https://film.one/film/i-daniel-blake) is the better film. The earlier one has one man and one form to follow and never loses them; this one has a whole village and a point to make, and keeps stopping the village to make it. Both have good leads, and both press their case too hard, but *I, Daniel Blake* leaves the deeper mark.

**What should I watch after The Old Oak?**

After *The Old Oak*, try [*I, Daniel Blake*](https://film.one/film/i-daniel-blake) (2016, Fi1m 82): Loach and Laverty with one man and one form, and much sharper for it. Then [*Brassed Off*](https://film.one/film/brassed-off) (1996, Fi1m 79): A pit village losing everything but its band; funnier and just as angry.

### Reviews we read (26)

- **Los Angeles Times**, Robert Abele (80/100, inferred): The critic praises Loach’s enduring compassion and commitment to themes of solidarity in this story of a pub owner bridging divides with refugees. It highlights the authentic casting and performances as particularly strong. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2024-04-12/the-old-oak-review-ken-loach-ebla-mari-dave-turner-solidarity)
- **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The critic calls it a knotty, melancholy hymn to community and solidarity, praising Loach's enduring empathy and the performances of the leads. It highlights the film's focus on xenophobia and the landlord's protectiveness toward refugees as a fitting swansong. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-old-oak-2023)
- **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (80/100, inferred): Spare and moving drama about a dying village greeting Syrian refugees with a mix of racism and puzzlement. Ends on a hopeful note with a full-throated call for brotherhood and solidarity as Loach's perhaps final film. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/movie-review-ken-loachs-final-film-the-old-oak.html)
- **The AV Club**, Brent Simon (B): Earnest, heartfelt and touching social realism that blends poignancy and hopefulness in a mature portrait of community tensions and immigrant integration. Commends Loach's unshakeable belief in people's capacity to listen, grow and choose better angels. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-old-oak-movie-review-ken-loach-1851383534)
- **Slant Magazine**, Jake Cole (75/100, inferred): Moving swan song and clarion call for a better tomorrow that depicts people carving dignity from undignified lives. Singles out the plea for solidarity between the scion of northern miners and a displaced Syrian woman united in shared struggle. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-old-oak-review-ken-loach/)
- **Evening Standard**, Jo-Ann Titmarsh (70/100, inferred): Loach might not be bowing out with a masterpiece but it is still classic Loach full of his trademark righteous fury. The film captures conflict over refugees receiving handouts and portrays desolation in boarded-up estates, though the script is heavy-handed with non-professional actors sometimes acting as mouthpieces. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-old-oak-movie-review-ken-loach-syrian-refugees-miners-strike-b1082194.html)
- **Film Comment**, Devika Girish (70/100, inferred): The film is straightforward and plainly shot, erring on maudlin, but it pierces with sincere, unadorned discontent about austerity's impact. It gleams with hope through emerging solidarity, yearning for a better future in a way that moves the critic despite its conventional form. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/cannes-2023-the-time-of-our-lives/)
- **Radio Times**, James Mottram (70/100, inferred): The critic finds it a frank, heartfelt examination of community crisis that is one of Loach's more hopeful films, nodding to the power of the collective. It praises the touching finale and themes of togetherness but notes it is not subtle and some non-professional acting falls short. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-lj2k4y/the-old-oak/)
- **The Independent** (65/100, inferred): The film is far from Loach’s best work and not his angriest or most compelling, but it is an honest piece from an artist committed to holding the powerful to account. It belongs to a loose trilogy set in the north-east and features strong leads in Dave Turner and Ebla Mari amid themes of economic abandonment and scapegoating of refugees. [Read](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/the-old-oak-ken-loach-review-b2420242.html)
- **Empire**, John Nugent (60/100, inferred): This is a fitting and frustrating end to an extraordinary career, with powerful storytelling occasionally stymied by less subtle impulses and preposterously bleak tone. It finds empathetic approaches and outstanding turns from the leads but lacks self-awareness in its hallmarks and didactic moments. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-old-oak/)
- **Variety**, Owen Gleiberman (55/100, inferred): The critic notes the film starts strong in illuminating working-class racism and community tensions but faults it for softening into wish-fulfillment. It praises the lived-in lead performances for their pain and soul. [Read](https://variety.com/2023/film/reviews/the-old-oak-review-ken-loach-cannes-film-festival-1235626246/)
- **Little White Lies**, Mark Asch (3/2/2): The critic views the film as another heavy-handed late work that trades on didacticism and sentimentality, with characters serving as mouthpieces for social issues. It singles out the programmatic style and stilted performances while acknowledging moments of hope and community. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-old-oak)
- **The i Paper**, Christina Newland (40/100, inferred): The Old Oak is a likeable and well-meaning film but a disappointment, with characters as archetypes that fail to deliver granular human detail. Good politics do not always make good movies, and the appeal for solidarity is broad and on-the-nose at times. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-old-oak-review-ken-loach-final-film-disappointment-2643886)
- **IndieWire**, Sophie Monks Kaufman: Stiff and contrived morality play about Syrian refugees that lacks artistry. Acknowledges that the filmmaker's socially conscious spirit remains alive as ever. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/the-old-oak-review-1234868354/)
- **Screen Daily**: The critic sees it as a resonant, angry swansong and one of Loach's foremost state-of-the-nation dramas, taking up arms against the decay of national compassion. It singles out the ensemble piece's ambitious mounting and commentary on xenophobia rooted in economic neglect. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-old-oak-cannes-review/5182494.article)
- **Sight and Sound**: The critic describes the film as a sobering portrait of a divided UK and Loach's possible final statement, focusing on a pub landlord befriending a Syrian refugee amid community tensions. It praises the stark depiction of deprivation and bigotry but notes the piling on of misery and lack of levity. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/old-oak-ken-loachs-final-cinematic-statement-stark-portrait-divided-uk)
- **The Guardian**: The film follows a pub landlord and a young Syrian refugee who join forces to unite divided communities in a struggling northern English town. It is driven by anger, empathy and idealism, delivering moments of blistering power despite uneven performances from the non-professional cast. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/sep/30/the-old-oak-review-compassionate-refugee-drama-from-ken-loach)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Jordan Mintzer: Compassionate if a bit schematic chronicle of a small-town culture clash as Syrian refugees arrive in a declining northern English mining community. Praises the natural intimacy and emotional high points from lived-in performances but notes some facile speechifying. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/the-old-oak-review-ken-loach-1235501649/)
- **The New York Times**, Alissa Wilkinson (Critic’s Pick): The critic finds the film a moving drama about connection between Syrian refugees and a struggling former mining town. It singles out the forthright style and meditation on hope for praise. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/04/movies/the-old-oak-review.html)
- **The Telegraph**: Ken Loach’s latest is the weakest of his recent north-east trilogy, with a script that borders on parody in its predictability and heavy-handed approach to social issues. The film is sluggishly plotted and ultimately unsatisfying despite its well-intentioned message of solidarity. [Read](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/0/the-old-oak-cannes-2023-review-ken-loach/)
- **The Times**, Ed Potton (★★☆☆☆): The worthy story of friction between locals and Syrian refugees in a former mining village is undermined by facile dialogue, clunky plotting and cartoonish supporting performances. The two main characters are engaging but the film is told in a cack-handed manner. [Read](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/the-old-oak-review-ken-loach-nbd0x85s0)
- **Deadline**, Damon Wise (85/100, inferred): The critic calls it a vital, moving social parable and fitting swansong for Loach, praising its compassion in depicting community tensions, racism born of decline, and themes of solidarity. It highlights strong performances, especially Dave Turner's, and the film's focus on ordinary people's shared struggles against systemic erosion. [Read](https://deadline.com/2023/05/the-old-oak-review-strength-solidarity-and-resistance-in-a-vital-moving-social-parable-by-ken-loach-1235381042/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Daniel Goodwin (4/5): The critic calls it another triumph for Loach and Laverty. The film is praised as inspiring and heartfelt, with emphatic compassion that adds potent drama, complex depth, and prevailing humanity to its social commentary. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-old-oak-review/)
- **The Skinny**, Jamie Dunn (★★★★): The film is a compassionate call for unity between a bitter working-class community and Syrian refugees in a deindustrialised village. It delivers rousing moments that forgive the script's heavy-handedness and occasional sentimentality, forming a deeply moving conclusion to Loach's recent trilogy. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/the-old-oak)
- **Eye for Film**, Andrew Robertson (60/100, inferred): The critic views the film as a series of didactic vignettes focused on community, solidarity, and the impacts of deindustrialization and prejudice. It is described as slow-paced and ultimately more preaching to the converted, though the director's quality is affirmed. [Read](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-old-oak-2023-film-review-by-andrew-robertson)
- **Paste**, Brogan Morris (6.5): The critic notes that while The Old Oak has the contemplative melancholy of a late work and delivers a familiar message of unity, it is gentler and more reflective than Loach's previous films, with variable performances and some didactic elements. They single out the focus on the divided village and the tentative path to unity as a strength, though acknowledging the message as overly simplistic. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/ken-loach/the-old-oak-review)

## Details

- **Director:** Ken Loach
- **Director:** Ken Loach
- **Screenplay:** Paul Laverty
- **Cinematography:** Robbie Ryan
- **Editor:** Jonathan Morris
- **Music:** George Fenton
- **Production design:** Fergus Clegg
- **Costume design:** Jo Slater
- **Producer:** Rebecca O'Brien, Jack Thomas-O'Brien
- **Cast:** Dave Turner as TJ Ballantyne; Ebla Mari as Yara; Claire Rodgerson as Laura; Trevor Fox as Charlie; Chris McGlade as Vic; Col Tait as Eddy; Jordan Louis as Gary; Chrissie Robinson as Erica
- **Runtime:** 1h 53m
- **Release (the US):** 5 April 2024
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Box office:** $8 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwb0c5zqsyM

## Where to watch in the US

- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on

*Checked 2026-09-10.*

Also available in: AT, AU, CL, CO, DE, FR, GB, MX, NL, NZ, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *I, Daniel Blake* (2016), Fi1m 82: Loach and Laverty with one man and one form, and much sharper for it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/i-daniel-blake.md)
- *Brassed Off* (1996), Fi1m 79: A pit village losing everything but its band; funnier and just as angry. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/brassed-off.md)
- *Le Havre* (2011): Kaurismäki’s shoeshine man hides a boy from the police; dry, kind, unhurried.
- *Welcome* (2009): A Calais swimming coach and a Kurdish teenager; the same argument, made quietly.
- *Fire at Sea* (2016): Lampedusa’s fishermen and the boats arriving; a documentary that never raises its voice.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-old-oak