The Making of the Film Riff Raff
The British Movie Starring Robert Carlyle by Director Ken Loach
Jan 12, 2009
With Riff Raff, made in 1991, Britain's most prolific and unashamedly political director Ken Loach turned his hand to a humourous film about a group of brickies on a London building site. The film was based on a script by Bill Jesse, an ex-builder, and populated by actors who had almost all worked previously as builders' labourers themselves. Sadly, it was to be Jesse's only screenplay, as he died shortly before Riff Raff came out. The film is dedicated to him.
Robert Carlyle's Big Break
Names such as Robert Carlyle, Ricky Tomlinson and Emer McCourt are familiar now, but back when Loach cast them they were practically unknown. McCourt has appeared in numerous films since Riff Raff (London Kills Me, Boston Kickout). She then branched out into production with youth culture flick Human Traffic (1999), starring John Simm, and has recently written her first novel, Elvis, Jesus and Me. Ricky Tomlinson is now a familiar and well loved face from shows such as Cracker and The Royle Family, and films like Mike Basset England Manager, The 51st State and Once Upon a Time in the Midlands. Robert Carlyle, it almost goes without saying, is now a huge star, albeit an extremely likable, down-to-Earth, un-showy kind of star. From Trainspotting to 24, Carlyle has excelled at bringing characters to life with a fresh and un-exaggerated sense of realism. Which is exactly what he did with Stevie, his first major role, in Ken Loach's Riff Raff.
Robert Carlyle recalls that when he attended the open audition for Riff Raff Loach did most of the talking, showed little interest in him and dismissed him with a polite “well, thank you for coming” almost as soon as he'd sat down. Thankfully, as he was leaving, Carlyle decided to mention his previous experience as a painter and decorator. This was enough to get him invited back to improvise scenes, and eventually he was rewarded with the lead role.
Ken Loach's Techniques and Approach to Film-making
Loach is renowned for using non-professional actors, and taking his time over the casting process to ensure that an actor's personal experience and outlook impacts the look and feel of the film. Unlike Mike Leigh, with whom Ken Loach is often bracketed, Loach does use a script, but he also relies on improvisation to sculpt the films he makes. He sees film as a collaborative process, and abhors the notion of director as auteur. Realism is maintained by using local dialects and colloquialisms, and casting people who look and sound like they come from where they are supposed to. That is why when Riff Raff was released in America it came replete with subtitles, to assist with American audiences' understanding of the characters' strong accents.
The Politics of Riff Raff
Long before it was released in the States, Riff Raff struggled to find an audience at home. Despite its universal themes of hope and fear, its focus on relationship struggles, its humour, poignancy and dramatic tension, Riff Raff was discarded by the powers that be as too political. Ian Christie, writing in Sight & Sound (October 1995), quoted a Channel 4 executive as “insisting that Riff Raff was too rooted in the recently ended Thatcher era to be of any interest to cinema-goers.” It did get shown on television, but it wasn't until the film received the International Critics Award at Cannes that distributors were prepared to re-release it. Previously, Riff Raff had only received a limited run at the National Film Theatre in London.
Ken Loach and Social Realism in Riff Raff
The neglect of Riff Raff, particularly on political grounds, was a shameful state of play. Films have a duty to reflect society through their story-lines and characters, but with Riff Raff, the drama is never secondary. The story rings true and the characters have values. Even though Stevie exacts a form of revenge at the end of Riff Raff which critic David Wilson (Sight & Sound, May 1991) described as a “condescending view of kicking the system in impotent despair”, this “impotence” is a very real characteristic of life, particularly for the working class people portrayed in Riff Raff.
Loach expressed his unique style and attitude to making Riff Raff best himself when he said “So many films glamourise images and people. We're trying to work against that. Part of being authentic is to examine how life really is. We want to give audiences the feeling of observing what's happening, rather than something set up for the camera.” (Empire, November 1993).
Riff Raff achieves this realism using both humour and tragedy to paint a nuanced, recognisable picture of working class life. Life Ken Loach captures in raw and beautiful detail. Loach is truly a king amongst film-makers and Riff Raff is the jewel in his crown.
Links and further reading which may be of interest: A Profile of Robert Carlyle, a short history of Social Realism and A Life in Pictures Bafta interview with Robert Carlyle (inc. clips from Riff Raff).
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