Ladybird Ladybird

A single mother struggles against the British social service system and her own troubled past in director Ken Loach's brutally realistic drama. Coming from a background of abuse and poverty, the hardened Maggie (Crissy Rock) has already suffered through a series of painful romances when she falls for the caring Jorge (Vladimir Vega), and they begin a loving but turbulent relationship. Their situation takes a turn for the worse when Maggie becomes pregnant, for her troubled past has left her branded an unfit mother by the government, with four previous children already in foster care. Determined to keep their child, Maggie and Jorge begin a difficult fight against the government bureaucracy, made all the more difficult by Maggie's volatile temperament. First-time actress and former stand-up comic Rock is especially effective as Maggie, making her desperation and unpredictability feel real. Loach's unadorned, realistic style suits the material well, raising political questions about the British government's treatment of the poor without detracting from Rock's performance or the story's powerful emotions.