A One Mann’s Movies review of “Tender Loving Care”. (From the 2026 London Film Festival). (2026, 3.5*, NR).
Mike Leigh has said that “Tender Loving Care” might be his last film, after continued struggles over a muscular condition called myositis. I hope that proves not to be the case, since British cinema is always enriched by a Mike Leigh film. For me, this one was not as good as Hard Truths, but it is still a good watch and hits you in the feels quite a few times.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
In contemporary London, social workers Amy (Kate O’Flynn) and Rosie (Alice Bailey Johnson) navigate the stresses of their work as well as the joys of their life living together under the same roof as friends.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This film has not yet received a classification by the BBFC, but I would expect it to be a 15 based on adult themes and some strong language.)
Talent:
Starring: Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Kate O’Flynn, Alice Bailey Johnson, Eva Holovko, Kaedon Skerritt, Amanda Lawrence, Sandy Foster.
Directed by: Mike Leigh.
Written by: Mike Leigh.
Running Time: 1h 47m.
Review:
Positives:
- As always, Mike Leigh takes aim against British systems in a critical way. Here, the target is the dilapidated state of the social care system – something countless government have tried and failed to fix over countless decades. The script harks back to better days in the past: “In the 50’s and 60’s, even the Tory’s cared about people”. We see how stressful the job is from Amy counselling a young fellow colleague who finds the work pressures too much for her mental health. You need to grow a hard shell to work in the sector.
- We see social care from two sides, via various different vignettes.
- Amy (Kate O’Flynn) deals with young people, particularly trying to make foster placements work. We see her trying to engage with young people like Kadim (Kaedon Skerritt) and Katy (Eva Holovko), but it’s hard work to connect with them against a wall of hostility to ‘the system’. We also see her with a mother Skye (a really great acting performance by Sandy Foster) who has had her child taken into care but desperately wants them back.
- Meanwhile Rosie (Alice Bailey Johnson) has an equally tough job in trying to make sure older vulnerable people are safe and happy. She has run-ins with recluses like Lyn (Amanda Lawrence) who will barely open the door to her and then starts a tirade of anger about her neighbours and about crap appearing on her step.
- The other main branch of the film concerns Amy’s elderly parents: Birdie (Marion Bailey, coincidentally Mike Leigh’s partner for many years) and Geoff (Paul Jesson). They have had a very long and happy marriage and are uproariously funny with their peculiarities, as only a long-married couple can be. But there are a few signs that Geoff might be deteriorating and this is causing Birdie and Amy significant stress. Both Bailey and Jesson are really good at playing these parts. Take tissues.
- The film is topped and tailed by an extreme close up of George (Alan Williams), a vagrant living on the streets, working the system to get some relief and a soft bed in hospital. The initial and final shots show a lot of filmmaking class, and really impressed me.
- I enjoyed the jaunty little score by Gary Yershon, heavily featuring a xylophone: not an instrument heavily used in film scores.
Negatives:
- I wasn’t sure which horse the film wanted to back: the story of the social workers or the story of Amy’s parents. The two kind of run in parallel, jostling for attention, and I’m not sure that wholly worked for me.
- Mike Leigh famously likes to improvise many of his scenes and that relies on actors who have the chops to do that. Sadly, and sorry to say this, I didn’t think Kate O’Flynn and Alice Bailey Johnson had that knack all of the time. There are some scenes, with them joyfully dancing around their living room, where it did work. But some of the quieter, more banal chatter didn’t feel natural to me.
- Can two women on a social care wage really afford to drink quite that MUCH wine?
- A minor thing, but there are continuity errors relating to time. A particular sequence has visible clocks set at 3-ish, then in the next scene we are back to 12-ish, and then back again.
Summary Thoughts:
I don’t think this is Mike Leigh at his very best and there are a few rough edges with this one. I’ve um’d and ah’d about giving this one a 3* or a 3.5*, but as it might be the master’s last film, I’ve gone for the higher rating. I hope Leigh will be back, or at the very least has amassed enough money from his past works to afford good private social care if it is ever needed. Although, given the message of all of his previous films, I really can’t see him ever taking that way out!
Where to watch?
Trailer:
The trailer for the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87kdRJXYTV8.
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