Capturing the mid-nineties shift where companies started to shaft their employees in favour of cost-cutting and efficiency, The Navigators is a stinging indictment of privatisation and its effects on the working man. While focussing on a group of Yorkshire rail workers who’re forced to adjust to changes, it raises questions about corporate working practices in general, and the short-sighted nature of a ‘progress at all costs’ mantra. Taking a script by ex-British Rail employee Rob Dawber, social conscience filmmaker Ken Loach instils his usual trademarks – effortless realism, naturalistic dialogue, working class struggles – but the end result is more solid Loach than it is vintage. But while the character work isn’t up there with his best, the non-professional actors and assortment of familiar faces (It’s him from Coronation Street! Him from The Full Monty! Him from Life On Mars!) are fantastic regardless.
