Introduction

Summary

17 January 2011. I am in a Glasgow hotel foyer, a stone’s throw from the city’s Buchanan Street bus station, pitching an idea to Ken Loach and his long-standing producer, Rebecca O’Brien. I outline that I am seeking access to observe the making of The Angels’ Share (Loach, 2012), a film which they plan to shoot in Scotland in the ensuing months, adding that, as academic access to film production is extremely rare, it represents a unique opportunity to present a scholarly account of Loach’s celebrated, but underexplored, working methods. During the discussion, O’Brien asks, ‘What’s in it for us, David?’

‘The historical record,’ I respond, somewhat off the cuff, and only partly in jest. Loach is seventy-five at this time, seemingly in the twilight of a long and illustrious career, and my reasoning is that they may weigh in this factor when deciding.

As the discussion continues, Loach and O’Brien indicate an eagerness for their work to be understood within critical frameworks which reach beyond the formal qualities of film or the specifics of film production. I reply that my plan would be to write a book-length account of Loach’s methods, one rooted in film studies, but contextualised historically, socially and politically. The meeting concludes with a degree of uncertainty: ‘We’ll be in touch,’ says O’Brien, before I depart the hotel.

As I saunter back to resume my teaching duties at the University of Glasgow, Loach telephones, advises that they have agreed to the request, and invites me to a production meeting later that week. He adds that he will shortly be participating on a BBC radio programme which will be broadcast live from a community centre near my home in Govan, and encourages me to invite any political activists I know to attend. ‘It would be good to get their voices in too,’ he says.

Two days later, I am back in the hotel foyer, armed with tape recorder, notepad and pen, listening attentively alongside Loach and O’Brien as Michael Higson delivers a presentation on possible locations for the upcoming shoot. This aspect of my research is underway in earnest, yet I am uncertain as to how it will unfold, and to where it might lead.