''Raining Stones'' is a 1993 film directed by Ken Loach and starring

Bruce Jones Bruce Jones may refer to: * Bruce Jones (actor) (born 1953), British actor *Bruce Jones (American football) (1904–1974), American football player *Bruce Jones (comics) (born 1944), American comic book writer *Bruce Jones (surfboards) (?–2014), ...

, Julie Brown, Ricky Tomlinson, Tom Hickey and Gemma Phoenix. It tells the story of a man who cannot afford to buy his daughter a

First Communion First Communion is a ceremony in some Christian traditions during which a person of the church first receives the Eucharist. It is most common in many parts of the Latin Church tradition of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Church and Anglican Communi ...

dress, and makes disastrous choices in trying to raise the money. The film won the Jury Prize at the

1993 Cannes Film Festival The 46th Cannes Film Festival was held from 13 to 24 May 1993. The Palme d'Or went to '' Farewell My Concubine'' by Chen Kaige and ''The Piano'' by Jane Campion. The festival opened with ''My Favorite Season'', directed by André Téchiné and cl ...

Plot

England is in the midst of a depression with crushing unemployment. Bob and his best friend Tommy engage in all manner of schemes to make money, including stealing sheep to sell to local butchers, tearing up sod from government buildings to re-sell, and cleaning out bathroom pipes. Bob's wife Anne tries to help, but doesn't have marketable skills (having been let go from a seamstress factory for not knowing how to sew). Despite their best efforts, they are unable to make any job stick or get ahead of their debt. Despite their tenuous financial condition, Bob plans to buy a brand new outfit for his daughter Coleen's First Communion, even though doing so is prohibitively costly. Eventually, Bob secretly gets a loan so he can afford Coleen's outfit and party. He's unable to pay it back, so the lender sells the debt to a vicious local loan shark, who forces his way into the house while Bob is out, steals Anne's jewelry, and makes numerous threats that he will injure Coleen if he's not paid soon. When Bob gets home, he's outraged at the trauma the loan shark inflicted on his family. He confronts the loan shark in a parking garage outside of a bar. The pair get into a fight and the loan shark beats Bob up and threatens to do even worse. However, as the loan shark begins driving off, Bob smashes his windshield with a wrench. This causes the drunken loan shark to lose control of the vehicle and smash into a column, killing the loan shark. Bob grabs the notebook containing all delinquent accounts from the loan shark's pocket, and flees into the night. Bob runs to the local church, where he tells the priest what happened and vows to turn himself into the police. The kindhearted Priest tells Bob not to turn himself in, noting that Bob didn't kill the loan shark himself and, indeed, many neighborhood folks will now be relieved. He commands Bob to pray for the loan shark's rotten soul, and burns the account book. The next day, Bob attends Communion as Coleen is adorable in her new outfit. Despite it being a wonderful day, Bob is shown being withdrawn and nervous, still feeling guilty about what he's done.

Cast

* Anne Marti - Anne Martin *

– Bob * Julie Brown – Anne * Gemma Phoenix – Coleen * Ricky Tomlinson – Tommy * Tom Hickey – Father Barry * Mike Fallon – Jimmy * Ronnie Ravey – Butcher * Lee Brennan – Irishman * Karen Henthorn – Young Mother * Christine Abbott – May * Geraldine Ward – Tracey * William Ash – Joe * Matthew Clucas – Sean * Anna Jaskolka – Shop Assistant * Jonathan James – Tansey * Ken Strath - Councillor Strath

Reception

The film has been given universal critical acclaim and holds a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. It won the prestigious

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

of the Belgian Syndicate of Cinema Critics. The film opened on 8 October 1993 in the United Kingdom on 11 screens and grossed £37,211 for the weekend, finishing in 13th place at the UK box office. It went on to gross £256,636 in the UK.

Year-end lists

* Honorable mention – Kenneth Turan, '' Los Angeles Times''

Filming locations

* Raining Stones was shot in and around the Langley Estate in Middleton, Greater Manchester. * Bob Williams' flat – as well as the butcher's shop in the opening scenes – were opposite the junction of Wood Street and Windemere Road. * The pub from the car park of which Bob's Transit van was stolen was The Falcon on the corner of Threlkeld Road and Bowness Road. The Falcon has since been demolished and the site remains undeveloped as of 2010.

References

External links

* * {{Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize 1993 comedy-drama films 1993 films Films directed by Ken Loach Films scored by Stewart Copeland British comedy-drama films Films shot in Greater Manchester 1990s English-language films 1990s British films