Poor Cow

By-the-book British realism from often interesting director Ken Loach (RIFF-RAFF). Joy (Carol White), a lumpen Cockney housewife, suffers in a dingy London flat with her swinish husband (John Bindon), a petty thief; when he's sent to jail, she moves in with Dave (Terence Stamp), who's a criminal associate of her husband. Surprisingly, Dave turns out to be a gentle and caring man who treats Joy's son with affection; but their fleeting happiness ends when Dave is also arrested. On her own, Joy ekes out a living as a barmaid and sometime nude model, treating herself to an occasional affair. She begins divorce proceedings, but when her husband is released she resolves ...