Ken Loach blends his usual politically acute social realism with a tale of hope and humour in this gentle Highlands caper.

Part social realism, part comedy caper, and so good-natured, warm and affectionate it's rather a joy, even though it doesn't exactly add up.

Despite its ultimate sense of optimism, the Glasgow-set dramedy nevertheless carries a sense of foreboding. And yet, that might not have been the intention.

Such an approach starts to grate before the film skips toward its sickly-sentimental climax...admirable to see the director rip up his own rulebook so late in his career, but to do so mid-film is perhaps not the best way to do it.