The second in Channel 4’s new anthology series I Am Kirsty delivers another masterfully raw insight into a devastating situation that will stay with the viewer long after it’s over.
This time, the story of Kirsty (played by Samantha Morton) follows a single mother of two fighting for stability as her financial situation becomes increasingly dire.
Yet again, creator Dominic Savage is platforming very real issues but nothing is dramatic or grandiose. What we’re presented with is the mundane reality of a woman being so broke, by no fault of her own, that she has to put beans back in the tin.
Shots of Kirsty working as a cleaner already sets up her economic situation and strain is immediately clear by an after school trip to the shop. Despite her lack of disposable income she really wants to be able to provide little things that make her girls smile.
Her quiet devastation when she arrives home having been fleeced by her partner is almost numbing to behold, because it’s clear that’s how Kirsty feels; numb.
Her guilt permeates through the performance, guilt in the shop, guilt for snapping at the girls and now guilt for having no TV or couch.
We learn about the gambling debt and she immediately has to shoulder the responsibility to ‘stay strong for those girls’. Then it’s beans on toast off the floor and no telly.
The phrase ‘drowning in debt’ is completely prevalent here as watching this piece feels like watching a woman drowning and will mirror a sad reality for so many. We often joke about having beans on toast for dinner when we’re really ‘broke’ but this is no joke.
Her already desperate situation takes a turn for the worst when a suspiciously friendly school dad notices her tears and tails her like a circling vulture, offering her a loan.
Game of Thrones’ Paul Kaye plays loan shark Ryan, and he is totally unnerving throughout. He offers her reassurances which she declines at first, but when she gets told off at work after asking for more shifts, her knocked confidence sees her relent to his offer.
Her co-worker Toni (Vinette Robinson) frightens her with her own story of turning to sex work when times were tough so she takes Ryan up on his offer which he gleefully hands her then and there from a lunch box stuffed full of 50-pound notes.
He gives her no obligation to pay back by a certain time but the unease is still there – what’s the catch? There’s no such thing as a free lunch which she soon learns the hard way.
The devastating consequences of their deal becomes all too clear when he arrives at her flat demanding the money back. Then he adds on interest and she now owes a grand and he threatens her with sexual violence before promising to burn her flat with her children in it if she doesn’t pay him back in a week.
I Am Kirsty is a is a blistering reflection on austerity that shows how easily these situations can snowball and chip away at a person until they can’t see a way out.
Kirsty reaches a point where she feels she has no choice but to make money from sex work. And while her devastation at such exploitation, sleeping with men for money is painful, it is gratifying to see her regain some control and pay off Ryan with her head held high.
The anthology seeks to platform women and their experiences and the men in Kirsty’s world seem to do nothing but exploit her – her partner leaves her destitute, there is no mention of the girls’ father, her boss knocks her confidence and Ryan drags her into a dark abyss of debt.
The film ends on a hopeful note, but it is sure to play on viewers’ minds for a long time after as little details on the day to day struggle with poverty are gut-wrenchingly and artfully captured.
Take a look at Metro.co.uk’s review of I Am Nicola starring Vicky McClure.
I Am continues on Channel 4 next week with I Am Hannah.
