This is too rare a film – authentic, political, personal, and gut-wrenching – about Britain today. Sorry We Missed You is a wake-up call about the shift in power from workers to company bosses and shareholders; about how UK companies control work – hours, intensity of work, pay – and how it damages us. Loach’s previous feature film, I, Daniel Blake, showed the calculated severity of the so-called ‘benefits’ system. This new one shows us the traps of the ‘gig’ economy – a sugar-coated misnomer if there ever was one. Popstars do gigs. Self-employed delivery drivers don’t. Zero-hours careworkers don’t. They’re underpaid, and work long hours with little recognition. Loach’s film shows the impact on a hard-working, exhausted couple and their two school-age children.
Abby’s first care appointment is at 7 am, her last at 9.30 pm. She keeps in touch with her kids by phone and uses the bus since she has sold her car for a deposit on a delivery van. She and partner Ricky think he can earn enough as a DPF (Deliver Parcels Faster!) franchisee to get a mortgage. At first, it seems he can, but then their son Seb gets into trouble at school; then with the police. Ricky needs time off – but he’s contracted to deliver daily, and hidden contractual costs kick in.
