Riff-Raff (1991 film)

1991 British film

Riff-Raff

Directed by| Ken Loach
Written by| Bill Jesse
Produced by| Sally Hibbin
Starring|

* Robert Carlyle
* Emer McCourt
* Ricky Tomlinson
* Jimmy Coleman

Cinematography| Barry Ackroyd
Edited by| Jonathan Morris
Music by| Stewart Copeland

Production
company

Parallax Pictures

Distributed by| Channel Four Films

Release dates

* 14 May 1991 (1991-05-14) (Cannes Film Festival)
* 21 June 1991 (1991-06-21) (United Kingdom)

Running time

| 95 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Budget| £750,000[1]

Riff-Raff is a 1991 British drama film directed by Ken Loach, starring Robert Carlyle and Ricky Tomlinson (the latter plays, and was in real life, a builder). It won the 1991 European Film Award Best Picture award.

As with most Loach films, Riff-Raff is a portrayal of modern Britain. It follows Stevie, played by Robert Carlyle, a Glaswegian recently released from prison who has moved to London and got a job on a building site turning a derelict hospital into luxury apartments.[2]

## Plot summary

[edit]

Patrick 'Stevie' Logan is sleeping rough in London and seeks employment on a non-union building site.[3] Learning that he is homeless, Stevie's new workmates Larry, Mo and Shem volunteer to find him an empty flat to squat in on a nearby housing estate.

Stevie meets struggling Irish actress and singer Susan (Emer McCourt) when he finds and returns a handbag belonging to her. This chance encounter leads to a turbulent relationship.

Stevie rounds up some of the men from the building site to support Susan at one of her pub gigs where she sings "Always on My Mind". The audience is initially hostile, but Larry shames them into calling Susan back for an encore and she sings "With A Little Help From My Friends", which is much better received. Susan agrees to move into Stevie's flat, where they are happy for a time.

On the building site, life continues as a series of small escapades and petty misdemeanors. Larry is vocal in his left-wing views and opposition to Margaret Thatcher and the ruling Conservative party. No-one shares his view that politics is important to their real-life situation. Meanwhile, the management sack men for minor misbehaviour and are only superficially interested in safety.

Stevie and Susan's relationship becomes strained. Susan tends towards negative emotions associated with her lack of career success. Stevie, on the other hand, can be callous and unsympathetic.

After hearing his name on radio Stevie finds out that his mother has died so leaves to attend her funeral in Scotland. In his absence Susan starts using the heroin dealt by youths on the estate. This precipitates the end of their relationship and Susan's sudden departure.

Larry is sacked from the site after requesting safer working conditions. After jokingly making an expensive phone call on the boss' mobile phone, Shem also gets the sack (and is arrested for the assault that follows).

Desmonde, a young construction worker, falls off the roof of the converted hospital and despite Stevie and Mo's efforts to save him he loses grip and falls to the ground and is severely injured. The cause of the accident is unsafe scaffolding, which the men have already been warned about. Stevie and Mo return in the middle of the night and set a huge fire in the building.

## Cast

[edit]

* Robert Carlyle as Patrick 'Stevie' Logan
* Emer McCourt as Susan
* Ricky Tomlinson as Larry
* Jimmy Coleman as Shem
* George Moss as Mo
* Ade Sapara as Fiaman
* Derek Young as Desmonde
* Peter Mullan as Jake

## Soundtrack

[edit]

* Always on My Mind – Composed by Johnny Christopher, Francis Zambon and Wayne Carson Thompson
* With a Little Help from My Friends – Composed by John Lennon and Paul McCartney
* Won't You Charleston With Me – Composed by Sandy Wilson
* I'm So Excited – Composed by Trevor Lawrence (musician), Anita Pointer, June Pointer and Ruth Pointer
* Spread a Little Happiness – Composed by Vivian Ellis and Clifford Grey
* Good Morning – Written by Nacio Herb Brown and Arthur Freed
* Everytime I Say Goodbye – Composed by Cole Porter – Performed by Emer McCourt
* The Sun Has Got His Hat On – Composed by Ralph T. Butler and Noel Gay – Performed by Emer McCourt[4]

## Reception

[edit]

Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 91% based on 11 reviews.[5]

The film was nominated for the Grand Prix of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics.

Its US screenings were accompanied by subtitles.[6][7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s" (PDF). British Film Institute. BFI Information Services. 2005. pp. 1–31\. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
2. ^ Kirk, John (Fall 2021). "Urban Narratives: Contesting Place and Space in Some British Cinema from the 1980s". Journal of Narrative Theory. 31 (3): 353–379\. doi:10.1353/jnt.2011.0071. JSTOR 30224570. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
3. ^ Cardullo, Bert (Spring 1994). "Men at Work". The Hudson Review. 47 (1): 101–108\. doi:10.2307/3852166. JSTOR 3852166. Retrieved 3 March 2025.
4. ^ Cardullo, R.J. (2016). Teaching Sound Film: A Reader. Berlin: Springer. p. 148\. ISBN 9789463007269.
5. ^ "Riff-Raff". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
6. ^ "'Trainspotting' made easy - for Americans". Independent.co.uk. 25 May 1996.
7. ^ Loach, Ken (1998). "The Politics of Everyday Life: An Interview with Ken Loach". Cinéaste (Interview). Interviewed by Ryan, Susan; Porton, Richard. JSTOR 41689103. Retrieved 3 March 2025.

## External links

[edit]

* Riff-Raff at IMDb
* Riff-Raff at AllMovie
* Riff-Raff at the TCM Movie Database
* Riff-Raff at Rotten Tomatoes
* Riff-Raff at the BFI's Screenonline

* v
* t
* e

Works directed by Ken Loach

Feature films|

* Poor Cow (1967)
* Kes (1969)
* Family Life (1971)
* Black Jack (1979)
* Looks and Smiles (1981)
* Fatherland (1986)
* Hidden Agenda (1990)
* Riff-Raff (1991)
* Raining Stones (1993)
* Ladybird, Ladybird (1994)
* Land and Freedom (1995)
* Carla's Song (1996)
* My Name Is Joe (1998)
* Bread and Roses (2000)
* The Navigators (2001)
* Sweet Sixteen (2002)
* Ae Fond Kiss... (2004)
* Tickets (2005)
* The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
* It's a Free World... (2007)
* Looking for Eric (2009)
* Route Irish (2010)
* The Angels' Share (2012)
* Jimmy's Hall (2014)
* I, Daniel Blake (2016)
* Sorry We Missed You (2019)
* The Old Oak (2023)

Documentaries|

* The Save the Children Fund Film (1971)
* McLibel (1997)
* The Spirit of '45 (2013)

Television|

* Up the Junction (1965)
* The End of Arthur's Marriage (1965)
* Cathy Come Home (1966)
* In Two Minds (1967)
* The Big Flame (1969)
* The Rank and File (1971)
* Days of Hope (1975)
* The Price of Coal (1977)
* The Gamekeeper (1980)

* v
* t
* e

European Film Award for Best Film

* A Short Film About Killing (1988)
* Landscape in the Mist (1989)
* Open Doors (1990)
* Riff-Raff (1991)
* The Stolen Children (1992)
* Close to Eden (1993)
* Lamerica (1994)
* Land and Freedom (1995)
* Breaking the Waves (1996)
* The Full Monty (1997)
* Life Is Beautiful (1998)
* All About My Mother (1999)
* Dancer in the Dark (2000)
* Amélie (2001)
* Talk to Her (2002)
* Good Bye, Lenin! (2003)
* Head-On (2004)
* Caché (2005)
* The Lives of Others (2006)
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
* Gomorrah (2008)
* The White Ribbon (2009)
* The Ghost Writer (2010)
* Melancholia (2011)
* Amour (2012)
* The Great Beauty (2013)
* Ida (2014)
* Youth (2015)
* Toni Erdmann (2016)
* The Square (2017)
* Cold War (2018)
* The Favourite (2019)
* Another Round (2020)
* Quo Vadis, Aida? (2021)
* Triangle of Sadness (2022)
* Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
* Emilia Pérez (2024)

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