Meantime

Many viewers may want to turn this film off before it ends. They may not want to give it a chance. I think that is because the characters in this brilliant little story inhabit a world that is bleak and not welcoming. It is depressing, to say the least. But this is a real, honest story, and though it may not be what many viewers are used to, it is really nice if you just give it a chance. And hey, there are even a few good laughs in here. Enjoy!

Meantime is my first Leigh movie and it is very good for a tv movie. The movie looks bleak and ordinary just like the family it presents. Tim Roth and Gary Oldman's performance were really good, the story itself was depressing one but it showed the reality of Thatcher's government. It was frustrating for me to watch at times and I wish we got deeper into storyline of some characters but the movie really nailed what it means to have an older brother and how that dynamic works...

An odd film, primarily looking at how the dole affects the underclass in Britain. Tim Roth stars as Colin, a slow and possibly intellectually disabled man living with his parents and brother in a housing project. He and his sarcastic manipulative brother still behave like teenagers, living with their parents, harassing each other. According to the critic Michael Coveney, "The sapping, debilitating and demeaning state of unemployment, the futile sense of waste, has not been more poignantly, or poetically, expressed in any other film of the period." Now, I don't know about all that. I actually found the movie to be rather bland and not overly interesting. What makes it even worth viewing at all is the debut performance of Gary Oldman, as well as an early appearance by Tim Roth doing his "slow person" routine (a strange acting tic he does).

Uncomfortable glimpse into poverty ridden Thatcher era London and what happens to the working and underclass when there are no jobs or prospects. A life on the dole, and the affects it has on the people, the families and the area. A young Gary Oldman as the demented delinquent skinhead Coxy and Tim Roth playing mentally handicapped Colin. Both brilliant performances. Still can't believe how young they were here. Ugly and gritty, just as it's meant to be. Bit bleak for me though and I wish they'd stop repeating that same bit of music over and over!

Doctor Octopus, Commissioner Gordon and The Abomination all join forces in this 80's gem. Displays real people in a real environment trying to get on with their daily struggles of unemployment. Leigh certainly has an eye for realism, but not an ear for music. It's probably the fact this was 24 years ago now, but the music is jarring and off-putting. Roth and Phil Daniels are brilliant as brothers, displaying the right amount of bitter hatred and genuine love and concern. No matter what, Leigh captures families by approaching each individual as exactly that, but always keeping an eye on how the family forms the roots and influences these characters. You never question their relationships because of Leigh's detail.

Having watched this now after his latest film "All or nothing", I'm struck on how similar they are to each other. You could say "Meantime" was a early version "All or Nothing". There's far less light and shade, the drama and dialogue are quite relentless in "Meantime", which makes watching far harder. Notable for debut performances by Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, they along with the rest of the cast portray their characters with amazing believability. This is a minor work compared to some of his early works and all of his later ones, but it's still a major accomplishment and deserves to be seen by those who appreciate challenging drama. (6/10)

Colin (Tim Roth) is unemployed and a little slow. His father Frank is also unemployed and so is almost everyone else he knows. Only his mother Mavis works in the family. His brother Mark (Phil Daniels) and skin head friend Coxy (Gary Oldman) drink their days away. They live aimless, hopeless lives in the jobless underclass of London. Mavis' sister Barbara and her husband John (Alfred Molina) are better off. Barbara gives Colin a job at her house which only turns the family relationships toxic. This is early Mike Leigh and it is straight into his favorite subject, the English underclass. It's a full length TV movie filled with future stars. It is compelling and not only due to their performances. There is a real sense of these characters and their world. Like most Mike Leigh movies, this is very much a character study. These actors are buzzing with power and soul.