I like Samantha Morton a lot as an actress, but she just doesn't make as good a filmmaker. The Unloved is one-dimensional. It's about a girl who is, well, unloved. And a postscript states that there are 71k kids like that in the UK. But there's really nothing else to it. It's like a series of scenes that barely tie up with each other, where the girl is ignored by caretakers or irresponsibly taken along while unpleasant things are happening. The narrative continuity is next to nonexistent.

It's Ken Loach, but with a little girl, to absolutely devastating effect. It is about as sorry as I have ever felt for anyone, and folks who know me will testify to the fact, that I go to extra lengths to only ever feel sorry for myself.

Not satisfied with being perhaps the best actress around, Samantha Morton steps behind the camera to heartbreaking effect. "The Unloved" aesthetically mixes social realism and poetic beauty a la Lynne Ramsay's films. It seems that Morton picked up a few things doing "Morvern Callar". The hopelessness of Lucy's plight is reflected in her sad, kind eyes. She is at once the protagonist and the spectator of her own life as she moves through halfway homes, guidance counselors and unloving parents.

Wow, so apparently my favorite actress can direct too!

Autobiographical and personal film from Morton. Unsettling and atmospheric, with good pacing and photography.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/apr/25/samantha-morton-the-unloved (the first paragraph)