by Frank Calvillo
Anyone who knows a thing or two about international directors knows Ken Loach. The somewhat caustic British-born filmmaker has taken heat for his more than controversial stances against the negative aspects of his and other countries’ societies while also earning a rightful place as one of the greatest English directors of all time.
Loach has always been the type of filmmaker at home with telling stories of the individual against a society which does not understand him and as a result, has all but written him off. Though such films require a good amount of heft, Loach has never ceased to make his films cinematic as well. My favorite example of this was the director’s stunning 2009 offering, Looking for Eric, about a blue collar postal employee who decides to embrace a kind of happiness he once had through a series of imagined encounters with legendary footballer Eric Cantona.
Jimmy’s Hall echoes that theme of the individual fighting against his society in an effort to live the kind of life he feels is deserved. The film is set in 1930s Ireland where, following an Irish civil war, a social activist named Jimmy (an excellent Barry Ward) returns home from a ten year exile in America as a result of his spearheading the construction of a hall where singing, dancing, art classes, and boxing lessons took place, much to the chagrin of local law officials. When a group of Jimmy’s followers convince him to reopen the hall, he is faced with strong opposition from the local priest Father Sheridan (Jim Norton, giving one of the most complex villain turns in a Loach film) and law enforcement, who label all of the hall’s members as communists.
Though it may be presented in a somewhat heavy-handed manner, the picture of fascism in Jimmy’s Hall is stark and upfront. Loach never shies away from how viciously close minded the many prejudiced townspeople were towards Jimmy and his friends, even going so far as having Father Sheridan and his secretary take down the names of every person who attends a dance in the hall and then labeling them as communists the following Sunday after reading their names aloud during church.
The display of ignorance in Jimmy’s Hall is wonderfully effective to the point that it becomes anger-inducing for the audience to watch. The condemning of simple pleasures like singing and painting, which contribute greatly to shaping of the individual, are seen as blasphemous and inspire all sorts of harassment from the local opposition.
However the spirit of the people, young and old, who put up with such strong hatred truly revel in their time spent in the hall and how much it feeds their souls. When a teenaged girl is beaten to a bloody point with a riding crop by her father for having attended the hall, she still goes back the next evening and apologizes for being so late. For her and the others, the hall represents hopes, dreams and true solace in a world governed by doubt. Its scenes such as these where Jimmy’s Hall becomes a beautiful stance against fascism and how the spirit of those it tries to destroy, remains unbreakable.
The film’s theater origins show themselves in a few sequences which suffer from a bit of staginess, which is oftentimes covered up by an editing job that’s a bit all over the place at times.
Yet Loach knows film like few others do and makes Jimmy’s Hall one of the most enriching cinematic turns of his career. The director’s decision to shoot Jimmy’s Hall on film rather than digital gives it an almost ethereal quality, especially where the landscape is concerned. Never has Ireland looked as lush and majestic as it does here.
The dancing scene in particular between Jimmy and former love Oonagh (Simone Kirby) made me wanna cry. Here, Loach gives us two characters drowning in chaos, fearing for the safety and futures, and places them in a moment of beauty and tranquility. The scene alone greatly represents both the kind of director Loach is and the type of story Jimmy’s Hall tells. Its also a classic reminder of the power of cinema. We go to the movies for such feelings and sensations. They are the moments where the medium really comes alive and gives its audience something unique and unexplainable, which can never be replaced. Simply put, it gives them magic.
