Culture

Directed by Jim Loach, (4/5).

Oranges and Sunshine is the debut feature film from Jim Loach, son of iconic director Ken Loach (The Wind That Shakes the Barley). It deals with the story of the 'home children', who as orphans were relocated without choice from Britain to other parts of the world, a fact not widely known by the British public and in particular their birth parents.
 
The film focuses on the work of Margaret Humphries (Emily Watson: Breaking the Waves, Wah-Wah), a British social worker who by chance comes across one of those deported as a child, who is now much older and searching for her birth family. Humphries takes an interest in the case, and discovers that not only were many more children also deported, but that some of them suffered brutal treatment in their new homes abroad. The film takes a more sinister turn when Humphries herself becomes threatened by those wishing to silence her discoveries, risking her own safety and health in order to bring closure to people she has never met.
 
Watson once again proves why she is possibly the most underrated actress working today. She is by turn steely, warm, driven and vulnerable, sometimes all within one scene. The restraint and reticence shown by Watson, sometimes going an entire sequence without facial expression and barely speaking, is key to Humphries’ role as the social worker: listening, supporting, but desperately trying to remain personally detached. The support cast is excellent too – many are relative unknowns and only feature for a few minutes, but are still utterly convincing as victims of horrific abuse and neglect. Hugo Weaving in particular puts in a terrifically subtle turn as the disturbed but gentle Jack.
 
The film does take a while to find its feet, and the initial events leading up to Humphries’ eventual mission seem a tad staged. After some time, however, the plot is allowed to unfold at its own pace, and rightly so as this is an historical piece. In telling a true story of the recent past that is not widely known, this is an important film. It is also a moving portrait of a woman’s selfless dedication to bring closure and comfort to others.