All Or Nothing (2002)

Dysfunctional family dinner

I have begun my viewing of Mike Leigh films, kick-starting with All or Nothing starring Mike Leigh's favourites Timothy Spall and Lesley Manville. It also starred Sally Hawkins who played the lead in Happy Go Lucky, and James Corden.

Timothy Spall (Phil) plays a depressive taxi driver

Like most of his films, All or Nothing is a bleak yet humourous portrayal of British society. According to BBC News,

Leigh said he was able to focus on "ordinary people's lives" because "I haven't somehow fallen into some swimming pool in LA and forgotten about what I once cared about as a film-maker.

Although I think some of the characters were slightly over-acted, I do think that it was a really engaging film, and had a perfect balance of humour and melancholy.