Starring: Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Jeffrey Robert, Marion Bailey, Gary Oldman, Pam Ferris, Alfred Molina, Tilly Vosburgh
Certificate: 15
Genre: Drama
Awards: None
Meantime is a British social realism film by Mike Leigh which has very early performances from actors such as Tim Roth and Gary Oldman. The film shows us the lives of a family living on benefits in the east end. When Roth's character, Colin, is given a job by his aunt Barbara (Bailey), it causes tension between him and his brother, Mark (Daniels).Mike Leigh's film (like his later film, Naked, to a lesser extent) doesn't seem to be interested in telling a story more than giving us a glimpse into the lives of these characters. Nobody is shown to be happy and sometimes their motivations seem unclear yet they still seem believable people you could meet in east end London (which is where I actually live, by the way). The film tries to make us understand the problems of the working class rather than one individual problem, leading to many parts seeming unresolved. But that seems to be the point.
If you enjoy British social realism, Meantime is a grim and despair-filled slice of it. The fact that it features young versions of some now-massive stars just adds another interesting aspect to it as they started in the same place as their characters (if not the same circumstances).
****Good
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