A good feel-bad movie...
Louise Tripp
Issue date: 11/5/02 Section: Film
Mike Leigh, director of the critically acclaimed "Secrets and Lies" and "Topsy Turvy," has just released his newest endeavor, a sweet film called "All Or Nothing." Saying "sweet," however, diminishes the power that this movie has.
"All Or Nothing" revolves around the lives of three blue-collar British families living in an apartment complex. It centers in particular around one long weekend in their lives.
Penny and Phil Bassett are the couple given the most attention, and in Mike Leigh's world it seems important to tell a story in which no one is all good or all bad. Thus, the audience comes into the lives of the Bassett family, feeling a great sense of compassion for both of these parents.
Penny and Phil have both settled into a miserable existence without realizing it. They both work in rather routine jobs — Penny, at a grocery store and Phil, as a cab driver — and both have little joy in their lives, alienated from each other and from their children.
Their children, Rachel and Rory are also troubled in their own ways. Rory reacts to his parents' relationship by becoming an overweight, foul-mouthed couch potato who is rude to everyone. Rachel is the polar opposite; an orderly at a nursing home. She barely speaks, but her timid silence conveys volumes.
This may all seem a bleak premise for a film, but the way in which the actors respond to each other in their roles makes the film's story an engaging one. The manner in which these characters deal with their anguish and finally, confront their own isolation manages to tug the heartstrings of even the most diehard cynics. This could be because Leigh's characters are so real and relevant in a world where so many are out of touch with other people, including those they come in close contact with on a daily basis.
Besides the key family portrayed here, there are two subplots involving the Bassett's neighbors. One family friend and her husband ritually abuse alcohol while their children fend for themselves, while another is a single parent with a quirky attitude and a rebellious daughter.
Though their camera time is less, these two stories offer their own take on human nature. In the end, momentous catastrophes and minor mishaps have occurred and no one is completely unscathed. This is the wonderful thing about this drama — nothing is tied together perfectly and no one's problems are completely solved by Monday morning, but then again, does that ever really happen?
"All Or Nothing" revolves around the lives of three blue-collar British families living in an apartment complex. It centers in particular around one long weekend in their lives.
Penny and Phil Bassett are the couple given the most attention, and in Mike Leigh's world it seems important to tell a story in which no one is all good or all bad. Thus, the audience comes into the lives of the Bassett family, feeling a great sense of compassion for both of these parents.
Penny and Phil have both settled into a miserable existence without realizing it. They both work in rather routine jobs — Penny, at a grocery store and Phil, as a cab driver — and both have little joy in their lives, alienated from each other and from their children.
Their children, Rachel and Rory are also troubled in their own ways. Rory reacts to his parents' relationship by becoming an overweight, foul-mouthed couch potato who is rude to everyone. Rachel is the polar opposite; an orderly at a nursing home. She barely speaks, but her timid silence conveys volumes.
This may all seem a bleak premise for a film, but the way in which the actors respond to each other in their roles makes the film's story an engaging one. The manner in which these characters deal with their anguish and finally, confront their own isolation manages to tug the heartstrings of even the most diehard cynics. This could be because Leigh's characters are so real and relevant in a world where so many are out of touch with other people, including those they come in close contact with on a daily basis.
Besides the key family portrayed here, there are two subplots involving the Bassett's neighbors. One family friend and her husband ritually abuse alcohol while their children fend for themselves, while another is a single parent with a quirky attitude and a rebellious daughter.
Though their camera time is less, these two stories offer their own take on human nature. In the end, momentous catastrophes and minor mishaps have occurred and no one is completely unscathed. This is the wonderful thing about this drama — nothing is tied together perfectly and no one's problems are completely solved by Monday morning, but then again, does that ever really happen?