The Old Oak

Both White British and Syrian characters are given complexity, and are shown to be united by their similarities. Syrian characters are played by Syrian people. Though the film is written and directed by White Men, real-life refugee stories were gathered by the writer and director prior to the film, and Amna Al Ali, who plays the mother of central character Yara, arrived in the U.K. as a refugee from Syria in 2008. Some local people express strongly racist views and use racist language toward the Syrian refugees, and only sometimes do other characters call them out. A supporting character uses a wheelchair, but is wheeled in and out of scenes without being given a role beyond. Set in an old mining town in the north of England, most English characters are seen to be financially struggling and show little hope of future prospects.

White characters intimidate Syrian characters, verbally harassing them with racist language, and one steals a camera from another, which ends up getting broken. A person shoves another out of their house and they stumble on to the pavement. Bullying at school involves hitting and kicking on the ground, resulting in blood on the face -- and filming the attack on a smartphone. Pitbull dogs behave aggressively and attack a smaller dog, which is killed by them off-screen. There are suicide references when a character talks about a past intention to take their own life. Mention of bombs, refugee camps, overcrowded prisons, beatings and torture, chlorine gas, militia, and news footage shows children being pulled from the rubble of a bombed school. Mention of the death of parents.

Passing sexual reference, where a customer suggests the barman is "slipping her a length" when talking about Yara. Mention of "shagging," British slang for sex.

Frequent strong language includes "c--t," "f---ing," "f----r," "f--k," "s--t," "s--ting," "s--thole," "shite," "hell," "piss," "d--k," "bastards," "a--hole," "crap," "bloody," and the British swear word "wanker." There's name-calling such as "nutter," "moron," "loser," "parasites," "scab," and "pedos," plus exclamations of "Jesus Christ." Racist language includes "Paki," "dirty immigrant" "foreign bastard," "f---ing ragheads," "crazy f---ing Jihadi," and "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves."

Characters drink pints of beer in a pub on numerous occasions. A character vapes.