A struggling family trying to cope with the financial woes they have found themselves in when Ricky takes a job as a delivery driver which is self employed as his wife Abbie works as a carer. All of this has a massive impact on the family unit as their children suffer with the situation.
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We quickly find out that Ricky had bounced from different jobs over the years and always worked hard. When he heads into the world of being a delivery driver, it is one of those things that sounds too good to be true in terms of the money you can earn. Rather than naming it as self employed the company they called it "owning your own business" and being a "franchise" of the company. Obviously that is false considering if you don't work you don't actually get paid. If they want a day off they must find another driver to cover, this would then involve them agreeing to less money.
Having to then buy his own van in order to take the job he is given advice from another driver not to hire one through the company. Along with the van they are then given the technology to help with the deliveries which is the pad that is scanned and we have all signed them over the years when taking in deliveries. This involves impacting Annie when he sells her car for the deposit. In order to then do her job she must get the bus which makes it all that more complicated and difficult not only for her but the people she is a carer for.
Both of these jobs are those that have been more well known over the past decade within the UK. If you search on any job website these are the ones that are always looking for people to employ, which tells you that the turn over of staff must be very high. After seeing more in-depth at this given the nature of what is involved with the jobs it is no surprise, especially considering they are often listed as the dreaded zero hour contracts. Which basically mean you work when you are needed and don't have any benefits or support that comes along with full time or even part time contracts with a company.
Basically it is all heartbreaking to watch, especially when you see inside the delivery factory and how horrendous the conditions are. Peoples lives are not taken into consideration and no compassion is given at all. Ricky and Abbie struggling along and not fully realising the impact this is having on their children until it is possibly too late. Seb a teenager had been skipping school and when at school getting himself into fights and constant trouble. This drives a big wedge with his father and his younger sister Liza Jae has huge anxiety problems because of the constant arguing.
The power of the story makes you really think twice about what people around you are having to do not only to live but to survive. Hopefully it will change opinions on the working hours people must put in and that it could impact behaviour and attitudes. I personally had never thought about the behind the scenes of the people delivering parcels or what carers deal with on a daily basis.
Heartbreaking to watch it all unfold this is the film Ken Loach followed up I, Daniel Blake. The hard hitting nature of both films highlighting the issues with the working system in the UK is hard to ignore. Sorry We Missed You shows the other option people will be left with in comparison to Daniel Blake. Both powerful and incredibly sad, which confirms the importance.
Set again in the north east back in Newcastle makes it doubly hard hitting for myself. The performances are impressive and I felt as though Debbie Honeywood had the ultimate scene when she eventually lost it and voiced her opinion during the phone call scene in the hospital. So raw and pure at the same time, making you as a viewer want to clap in support! Kris Hitchen is given some very tough scenes as well putting in an impressive performance. Rhys Stone and Katie Proctor were both fantastic at very young ages taking on this roles and I was impressed with how much they added to so many scenes. It was also fantastic to see Charlie Richmond in the film who is a regular on stage around the North East.
