"The Old Oak" is a fading pub that still serves as an important center, as all good pubs do, for a local working class community decimated by economic shifts away from its industrial glory days. The towns' people and pub regulars all have their own personal challenges, history and general hard feelings. The arrival of Syrian refugees kicks off the narrative, prejudices and misunderstandings surface. The bitter and disenfranchised blame the government and other powers that be, and resent the change the new comers represent.
The film gradually reveals the humanity and resilience of its characters, as they find common ground and ultimately become a stronger community, together.
"The Old Oak" is not at all subtle in its themes of diversity and community emerging in the face of economic and social upheaval. It pretty much just straight up tells us what it's about. Hope is what the powerful take away to maintain their power. The three symbols of hope in the film (a small dog, the life of a missing father in Syria and the back room event space of the pub) all suffer a similar fate in the course of the story. But together the community bonds in new ways, rejecting the view of those that would "kick down" in their frustration with their lot. Add in some blatant religious loss and redemption analogies... "The Old Oak" receives criticism for its messaging being pretty obvious, but I don't see a problem with that. It's a good film.
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