Ken Loach's The Gamekeeper, released in 1980, is sometimes described as a feature film, but is actually Loach's last television drama work, made as a television film for Associated Television. It's one of Loach's more obscure pieces, an adaptation of a novel by his occasional collaborator Barry Hines, and like their earlier Kes, it is set in South Yorkshire and stars a largely unknown cast, all of whom speak in Yorkshire dialect. It is markedly less well known than Kes, and not really in the same league, but it explores some common themes and is an interesting example of Loach's transition from full-time television director to full-time film director.
Like Kes - and indeed most of Hines' writing - The Gamekeeper explores issues of class, but does it rather differently. Here, class is examined through the lens of the eponymous Gamekeeper George Purse, a working class man employed by a rich landowner to chase other working class men off his land. Very little actually happens - the understated social commentary is wrapped in a plot that entirely consists of George going about his business over the course of a year. He tries to get his rotting window frame replaced, whilst his mate considers the pros and cons of buying a ferret, and later he discusses pies with a butcher, and then further discusses (and eats) pies with his mates and pub landlord whilst having a pint. This gives way to the film's most overt social commentary, as his friend launches into a socialist rant about land ownership. The rest of the film contemplates the same theme, but in a more subtle, understated way: it is quietly critical of private land ownership and trespass laws that see George bullying a pair of schoolgirls who are picking bluebells. In essence, George loyally and with - the film argues - disproportionally little reward works for a system that seems entirely engineered to give some posh folk the chance to shoot things once a year.
On paper, it sounds boring, but somehow it isn't, thanks to the way that Loach and Hines manage to immerse the audience in George's deeply parochial world. As protagonists go, George is unusual. He's a brusque, unsympathetic father, and a gruff figure who tries to bully trespassing kids with threats of court appearances. He much prefers his current job to his former one in a steelworks, and is happy to have swapped a council estate for a cottage in the woods, but his wife Mary is less enthusiastic about the isolation and the lower wage, plus the lack of holidays that George now gets. George also starts to gradually have doubts after his friend's argument about landowners in the pub. The screenplay implies that the price George pays for his quiet rural lifestyle is closeness to his family, as demonstrated by the final scene of him microwaving a pie when he gets home, his wife and sons having gone out. Early in the film, we learn that the children of the local poachers bully one of his sons at school; rather than sympathising, or becoming angry, he sullenly suggests that this is a price his family has to pay.
As in Kes (and indeed much of Loach's work), casting relatively unknown actors pays off, not least because it results in the use of authentic (if, to some audience's, impenetrable) accents. Phil Askham frequently stumbles over his lines as George, which actually makes his performance more naturalistic, even if it wasn't intentional. Generally, the acting is very good, including that of the various kids. Rita May (George's wife Mary) and Willoughby Gray (the Duke) are probably the most recognisable cast members.
As for the direction, it is a typical example of Loach's low-key style. He's rarely described as an auteur, but he has the skill of an artisan, favouring filming exclusively on location when possible, and reportedly using first takes as much as he can, which captures the realistic rawness of some of the performances. He also - on this occasion - ignores all the advice about not working with children and animals, with plenty of both appearing. There's no shying away from the more gruesome aspects of game keeping, as George breaks a rabbit's neck and shoots a fox (according to the DVD commentary, the fox was actually shot dead on film). Nevertheless, Loach still employs the tools of cinema to aid the narrative: he uses on-screen captions to mark the passing of the seasons, for example. As in Kes, cinematographer Chris Menges exploits the location filming to great effect; the South Yorkshire countryside at and around Wortley Hall looks very pretty. Menges also helps to provide the sort of docu-drama aesthetic that characterises much of Loach's early work.
Had The Gamekeeper been made for cinema rather than for Associated Television, it would probably be better known and more appreciated than it is. Instead, it largely languished in obscurity for decades, seen only by die-hard Loach fans, until it was released as part of The Ken Loach Collection Volume One DVD box set. That probably only brought it slightly greater recognition, but it is certainly a fascinating entry in the divisive Loach catalogue, and it makes an interesting companion piece of sorts to Kes.
Like Kes - and indeed most of Hines' writing - The Gamekeeper explores issues of class, but does it rather differently. Here, class is examined through the lens of the eponymous Gamekeeper George Purse, a working class man employed by a rich landowner to chase other working class men off his land. Very little actually happens - the understated social commentary is wrapped in a plot that entirely consists of George going about his business over the course of a year. He tries to get his rotting window frame replaced, whilst his mate considers the pros and cons of buying a ferret, and later he discusses pies with a butcher, and then further discusses (and eats) pies with his mates and pub landlord whilst having a pint. This gives way to the film's most overt social commentary, as his friend launches into a socialist rant about land ownership. The rest of the film contemplates the same theme, but in a more subtle, understated way: it is quietly critical of private land ownership and trespass laws that see George bullying a pair of schoolgirls who are picking bluebells. In essence, George loyally and with - the film argues - disproportionally little reward works for a system that seems entirely engineered to give some posh folk the chance to shoot things once a year.
On paper, it sounds boring, but somehow it isn't, thanks to the way that Loach and Hines manage to immerse the audience in George's deeply parochial world. As protagonists go, George is unusual. He's a brusque, unsympathetic father, and a gruff figure who tries to bully trespassing kids with threats of court appearances. He much prefers his current job to his former one in a steelworks, and is happy to have swapped a council estate for a cottage in the woods, but his wife Mary is less enthusiastic about the isolation and the lower wage, plus the lack of holidays that George now gets. George also starts to gradually have doubts after his friend's argument about landowners in the pub. The screenplay implies that the price George pays for his quiet rural lifestyle is closeness to his family, as demonstrated by the final scene of him microwaving a pie when he gets home, his wife and sons having gone out. Early in the film, we learn that the children of the local poachers bully one of his sons at school; rather than sympathising, or becoming angry, he sullenly suggests that this is a price his family has to pay.
As in Kes (and indeed much of Loach's work), casting relatively unknown actors pays off, not least because it results in the use of authentic (if, to some audience's, impenetrable) accents. Phil Askham frequently stumbles over his lines as George, which actually makes his performance more naturalistic, even if it wasn't intentional. Generally, the acting is very good, including that of the various kids. Rita May (George's wife Mary) and Willoughby Gray (the Duke) are probably the most recognisable cast members.
As for the direction, it is a typical example of Loach's low-key style. He's rarely described as an auteur, but he has the skill of an artisan, favouring filming exclusively on location when possible, and reportedly using first takes as much as he can, which captures the realistic rawness of some of the performances. He also - on this occasion - ignores all the advice about not working with children and animals, with plenty of both appearing. There's no shying away from the more gruesome aspects of game keeping, as George breaks a rabbit's neck and shoots a fox (according to the DVD commentary, the fox was actually shot dead on film). Nevertheless, Loach still employs the tools of cinema to aid the narrative: he uses on-screen captions to mark the passing of the seasons, for example. As in Kes, cinematographer Chris Menges exploits the location filming to great effect; the South Yorkshire countryside at and around Wortley Hall looks very pretty. Menges also helps to provide the sort of docu-drama aesthetic that characterises much of Loach's early work.
Had The Gamekeeper been made for cinema rather than for Associated Television, it would probably be better known and more appreciated than it is. Instead, it largely languished in obscurity for decades, seen only by die-hard Loach fans, until it was released as part of The Ken Loach Collection Volume One DVD box set. That probably only brought it slightly greater recognition, but it is certainly a fascinating entry in the divisive Loach catalogue, and it makes an interesting companion piece of sorts to Kes.
