THE OLD OAK of the title is a beleaguered, woebegone boozer in County Durham, but it might also refer to Ken Loach himself, for over 60 years now a defiantly sturdy central presence in British cinema, withstanding the gales of commercial, critical and political fashion, deeply rooted in and nourished by traditions of struggle, social justice and solidarity. The Old Oak is strongly rumoured to be his final film – and though it’s by no means his finest, it’s a stirring reminder that no-one these days makes films quite like him and his retirement will leave a gaping hole in the nation’s cultural landscape.
Dave Turner, a Geordie ex-fireman making his acting debut, is TJ, the crumpled, long-suffering landlord of the Oak. He’s part of the welcoming party for a group of Syrian refugees who have been housed in the ex-mining village, much to the disgust of some of the locals, who feel that their own struggles are ignored
