We all can talk about injustice or the unfairness of the situation while we sit in our warm chairs complaining about the salary we find not too high, yet we manage to plan our trips overseas. But there are people existing in our societies, especially in the well-established ones, where people barely earn enough money to buy groceries despite working day and night to support their family and children they barely get to see. How can we talk about equality when there’s no such thing existing?

“Sorry We Missed You” follows the Carter family – Ricky, his wife, Abby, son Sebastian, and daughter Lisa Jane. They live in an apartment they must pay the mortgage of, work as hard as possible with no chance that they can pull themselves out of the hole they find themselves in. Ricky works for PDF (Parcels Delivered Fast), where he must deliver parcels to customers, alive or dead. If he misses his shift, he has to pay a hefty fine. His wife, Abby, is a social worker. She visits elderly customers, looking after them even during her overtime, which she does not get paid for. As they try to cope with what life throws at them, it becomes evident that the gap between the lower class and the upper class in society is alarmingly high.

Written and directed by Ken Loach (I, Daniel Blake), the film cleverly explores the social issues and how people on low wages have been treated by their bosses, or even by the customers who, obviously, want their parcels to be delivered on time. As for wages, Rick, for instance, does not have one. The only payment he receives for his hard work is fees that he mostly pays back to the company if he needs to ask for a day off. Overall, it’s a brilliant film that, if anything, shows us some people have no choice in their life. They can’t find a better job for whatever reason. And all that they are left to do is to serve us, always complaining people, instead of saying hello to those who knock on our door to deliver our food, parcels or something else. Just to give them a smile will be a good reward to make them feel appreciated for things they do for us – making us happy.