Hot from reviewing Michael J. Long’s indie Baby Brother earlier this month, we at The Geek Show were approached by another Liverpudlian filmmaker with a view to taking a look at his movie. That movie is Kate & Jake and its writer/director is Jack McLoughlin. I was more than happy to agree to give it the once over.
The film tells the story of the eponymous protagonists, Scouse musician Jake and southerner (albeit with Polish roots) Kate. The premise is a simple one; after being seperated for a few months, Kate reaches out to her ex to ask if they can meet up. At they reunite, the pair reminisce about the ups and downs of their five year relationship, and a series of flashbacks ensures that the audience are privy to the events, before Kate reveals the reason for their meeting.
Whilst Kate & Jake may be McLoughlin’s feature debut, it’s worth bearing in mind that the young filmaker has worked in the industry for several years now, undertaking roles in various capacities on some significant productions, including Mike Forshaw’s emotionally impactful 2015 short Saturday, concerning the Hillsborough disaster, and Being Keegan, a 2017 short from director Stephanie Zari which starred Scouse royalty, Stephen Graham. The experience that McLoughlin has gathered from countless film sets shows in Kate & Jake, as does his passion for the medium itself. In terms of the former, this is a very polished and technically accomplished feature for its limited budget, whilst the latter can be evident in a sense of McLoughlin’s influences, specifically (I suspect) Richard Linklater and John Cassavettes. A Liverpudlian Linklater? A Scouse Cassavettes? Let me tell you, I am down for that!
Kate & Jake is a quietly powerful, deeply intimate and emotionally resonant piece of filmmaking that can easily stand alongside any indie production within the same genre from across the pond.
Comparisons to Linklater’s Before trilogy of films are especially valid as McLoughlin explores the shelf life of a modern romance; the meet-cute and the first flourishing blooms of a love affair, before the cracks start to appear as reality sets in. Daily hardships from external forces, the bare bones of living together, crises, frustration, ennui and petty jealousies all come tumbling out until the relationship deteriorates and finally implodes. It is in these palpable raw emotions, pitched up close and intimately to audiences in a non-linear, near-cinéma vérité style, that we feel as if we are already witnessing the work of an auteur. What Kate & Jake depicts is a really accurate depiction of a working class relationship (mercifully devoid of any leanings towards ‘poverty porn’, despite its acknowledgement of the environment around the couple, the council estates of contemporary Liverpool and casual drug use) handled so remarkably authentically across the ninety or so minute runtime. McLoughlin’s screenplay is well paced and structured, with dialogue that is never once affected or mannered; every word, every beat feels real. Of course, a major contribution to this lies in the naturalistic performances from his two stars, Sarah-Louise Chadwick and Michael Latham, actors who convincingly convey every step of their relationship and ensure the audience feel for them. Also in the cast are Anthony Devine as Jake’s feckless brother (the “How do you cook bacon?” scene is still cracking me up) and, as a rather deluded auntie, the great Crissy Rock, award-winning star of Ken Loach’s 1994 film Ladybird, Ladbird and the popular ITV sitcom Benidorm. It’s very easy with micro-budget movies for the director to concenrrate so much on the main story and performances that he can take his eye off the ball regarding his supporting cast; an occasion where someone with only a couple of lines overeggs the pudding and comes off unbelievable. But, to his credit, McLoughlin never drops the ball once. There’s a remarkable cohesion here, one in which every single member of the cast and crew understood the brief and gave it their all, that is truly admirable and deeply impressive for a first time feature filmmaker.
Kate & Jake is a quietly powerful, deeply intimate and emotionally resonant piece of filmmaking that can easily stand alongside any indie production within the same genre from across the pond. It’s actually a refreshing joy to see a British indie set in a working class city and featuring working class characters that isn’t about crime or economic hardship and is simply about something that all audiences can relate to – the happiness and heartbreak that a love affair can bring. I am very glad to have had the opportunity to see Kate & Jake and encourage anyone with the same chance to leap at it. More voices like McLoughlin are needed in British cinema and I look forward to seeing the succesful career that I feel certain lies in store for him.
Look out for Kate & Jake playing a film festival near you
Mark’s Archive: Kate & Jake (2023)
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