Home (1998)

“Bobby” (Russell Anderson) is a council housing inspector with three properties to visit. The first sees him meet blind brothers “Roy” and “Troy” who have recently lost their mum, but who are certainly happy in their home - especially as now they have a room each. Next, it’s the flat of a lady who owes her stair money (a pot paid into by the residents to service the communal areas). Suffice to say that this occupant is beyond caring, perhaps to the chagrin of the complaining “Mrs. Robinson”. Finally, he visits the openly hostile “Mr. Young” who has something especially unique to hide - but what is “Bobby” to do? Now perhaps because I grew up in a Glasgow tenement, I found these scenarios quite relatable and with the possible exception, and really only the “possible” exception, of the last one I could readily imagine not just the myriad of experiences a council worker might encounter day-to-day, but also of the incredible small-mindedness of neighbours who all too eagerly assume the worst about people they don’t know and then don’t hesitate to call the “coonsill”. “Bobby" comes across as a character who might actually be sympathetic to the plights of his tenants, and judging by the opening scene in a derelict hospital ward and by the obvious signs of damp adorning all of these properties, it also serves to shine a light on the appalling standards of public housing available to these folks. It’s funny, in a dark sort of sense, and it’s quite an illuminating ten minutes too. Worth a watch.