Nil by Mouth (1998)

this is one angry movie, that never lets up, gary oldman has only directed the one film, and its a beauty, the script is one of the nastiest bits of writing, its just unrelenting, the acting is so realistic, extremely depressing but would have be in the top ten films of the 90's. it is heavy going, but like a car crash you cant keep your eyes off it..... kathy burke is sensational, boy she can act, she can do comedy, but the drama she does in this, is so deep and in character. if this is the only film oldman makes, he has made a minor classic 10/10 punk rock cinema, ray winstone is as ugly as it gets, one of his best acting roles ever...this movie seems to get overlooked. great cinema

This is Gary Oldman's only directorial role. He is known for playing villains and difficult characters in a range of movies, and is known for having taken many "integrity roles" - not pandering to Hollywood-style movie star roles. His work as an actor is outstanding and suggests he loves theatre and film, and thinks seriously about the roles he accepts.So, his directorial debut should be judged by a high standard. Fortunately, it surpasses expectations. This is movie about working class London life. It is gritty, it is dark, it is heavy. It doesn't try to build up an idea of London Gangster, as other movies of this ilk seem prone to doing. There is no sense that the movie is an attempt to posture or create a "British ghetto cool" in response to American Gangster or Ghetto movies. It is unflinching in it's portrayal of housing estate life, heroin addiction, and families flawed on many levels. It doesn't romanticise any of this. But, despite the dark mood of the piece, and the coarseness of the characters involved, you do get a feeling that this family love each other and care about each other. Sometimes, this causes tension - as a viewer, you can't help feeling life might be better for each member of this family if they just went their separate ways. But, true to life, they stick together, in the face of continual betrayals, violence, angers, and destruction. And they keep a dark sense of humour throughout.As someone who has experienced the environment portrayed int his film, I found it highly realistic. The humour was twisted, but genuinely so - in times of such strife, gallows humour comes to the surface. And the continuing sense that the next crisis is only a lift ride away makes this movie forceful and unforgiving in it's portrayal of British street life.

Not only is Gary Oldman one of the best actors ever, he is also a capable director/writer. this film is loosely based on Oldman's childhood. that fact is actually disturbing after watching the movie. i thought to myself, have i ever watched a movie with this much bad language? well i looked it up and here is a interesting fact :The word "fu.." and its variations are used 522 times, an average of 4.25 times per minute, a higher rate than any other film to date (March 2008), with the exception of the documentary Fu.. (2005), which holds the record with 824 uses of the word. The word "cu.." is used 82 times in this film. Ray Winstone impressed me with his performance. a genuine force of nature , or destructive nature sounds more right.

A brutally honest, gritty, painful reflection on working class life in england. It begins as you would expect any film about working class citizens to begin... in the local, run down pub. But the 2 hour film takes you through honest and heart wrenching material which makes the text, as a whole, incredibly painful to watch. The characters are broken, yet we form a well rounded understanding of them while we watch the turbulent events of their lives unfold. The sympathy and distaste we feel for each character stems from a completely honest representation of them (and their situation) fed to us so truthfully by Gary Oldman. The story, whilst controversial in it's nature, makes for an interesting and turbulent ride through the back streets of London proving us with previews of drugs, violence a domestic abuse. A must see for any serious film lover. Not to be taken lightly.