Lollipop (2024)

Licked by the System, Not Beaten - Lollipop review by griggs

Lollipop is a punchy little kitchen sink drama that aims for those Ken Loach and Mike Leigh beats—and gives it a damned good go. It’s gritty, humane, and quietly furious. The cast is superb, delivering raw, believable performances that pull you straight in. It’s hard not to feel angry watching it—once again, it takes a film to expose the system’s failings. Not perfect, but undeniably powerful. One that sticks with you—just like the name suggests.

A powerful & furious scream at the system which traps so many desperately trying to survive - Lollipop review by Timmy B

Lollipop was a film which I heard about due to extremely positive word-of-mouth praise, plus is also in a genre which gives many opportunities for great drama (kitchen-sink/social realism.) It is obvious the impact & inspiration that filmmakers such as Ken Loach and Paul Andrew Williams have had on this micro-budget & gritty look at one woman's desperate fight to get back her children.

Molly (nicknamed Lollipop) is a single mother who, when we first hear her voice, is calling from prison, where she is finishing up a short sentence. She is released and, due to estrangement from her mother, lives in a tent whilst trying to sort herself out. She is then told, upon trying to get her children back, that because she doesn't have a home to live in (she was forced to give it up when she was incarcerated,) she cannot look after them. However, in a ludicrous & heartbreakingly cruel twist, because she doesn't have her children/is seen by the system as a single woman, she is low-priority to be housed and only qualifies for a 1 bedroom flat, which social services will not accept as suitable. We then follow Molly's desperate attempts to try & fight the sclerotic system which she is trapped in.

The main thing I loved about this film was it's raw honesty. Molly is presented as a real person, doubtlessly influenced by many of the women that writer/director Daisy-May Hudson met in her own life (the film is based on her experiences growing up within the housing/benefits system.) She is at times extremely difficult, partly due to the trauma of her upbringing, as well as mental health issues. But there is also, crucially, not a disingenuous attempt by the film to explain away all of her behaviour or make excuses for all of it.

I also really liked the fact that, as much as the bureaucratic element of the film was shown as heartless, the actual people who were in those positions were not demonised & made to look uncaring or evil. It was made clear that they were following a system which they had no control over, as well as doing everything they could to, despite Molly's extremely challenging behaviour, to try and help her.

Finally, the friendship she had with Amina was also the beating heart of this story. And the interactions and characterisation of these 2 friends was an absolute joy. Amina, who is a single mother as well as a refugee who has escaped from a war-torn country, has a similar struggle with homelessness as Molly, but from a different situation which is just as upsetting & difficult. But the chemistry & fun they have together, as well as the tears they share, are heartbreaking.

But this film is not perfect, and part of the difficulty I had with it was due to one mainly crazy decision which I will not reveal, which is made by Molly early on, which not even her children wanted her to do. I do absolutely accept & recognise that this is the film showing that, when you put desperate people under unbearable pressure, they will make decisions which are sometimes stupid. But I did feel that there was also an element of the script in that moment doing a lot of heavy lifting for Molly's extremely poor behaviour.

But there is incredibly acting & film production here. Sterling is a ferocious & amazing talent, making Molly someone who you genuinely root for, matched toe-to-toe by Ahmed's beaming and wonderful Amina. The film is also extremely tightly-edited and paced.

Whilst this is a difficult watch, it is also a film I highly recommend