Family Life **** (1971, Sandy Ratcliff, Bill Dean, Grace Cave) Classic Movie Review 10,663

Director Ken Loach’s extremely skilled and acute, if depressing 1971 British drama Family Life is the film version of David Mercer’s TV play In Two Minds about a 19-year old London girl (Sandy Ratcliff) driven mad by her family (dad Bill Dean, mum Grace Cave), friends and drug-therapy.

Loach uses an ideal TV-style documentary approach that makes for a startling immediacy and makes his points about the need for the right kind of upbringing and caring help with characteristic clarity and vigour.

Ratcliff is excellent, and so is the film, but it is all very painful to watch.

Mercer also writes the screenplay.

Also in the cast are Malcolm Tierney, Alan MacNaughtan, Michael Riddall, Hilary Martyn [Hilary Martin], Johnny Gee, Edwin Brown, and Freddie Clemson.

Producer Tony Garnett died aged 83 in January 2020.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,663

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