Nil by Mouth (1998)

Let's be realistic.

Good concept, poorly executed.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Kafka once wrote "i think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound and stab us. If the book we are reading doesn't wake us up with a blow on the head, what are we reading it for?."Well, I do believe that we need not only this kind of books, but also this kind of remarkable music and movies that shocks us, affects us and makes everyone of us a little bit more human..'Nil By Mouth' is not a colourful picture was made to please us... It's one of the few movies that wake us up to face the real true world around us, this film is not a tale or a yarn, it's exactly the opposite of that, it's a story of a real work class family could be mine or even yours!. If not check up your neighbours and you will get what I mean.. The script is so smooth like you'ed almost forget that it's a film, the dialogue is just so spontaneous, unprompted and way far from any kind of platitude, which make it very easy to believe... I really think the script is the true star of 'Nil By Mouth' by its honesty and simplicity, because the whole story is from the real world out there where people trying their bests - in their different messed up ways- just to pass each and every day with the minimum possible losses.... every character is interesting to watch, and see what's going on deep inside of them and how they think and feel, why they are not doing anything to change their shitty reality , to move on, or maybe they're!. I just don't know. Raymond's talking about his father actually brought me to tears and I think it's one of the best moments I've ever seen on movies, it's just so honest, simple, direct, pure and unaffected.And not only the script, but also the direction is by the great Gary Oldman!! He's just natural... Ray Winston and Kathy Burke are brilliant!! Again thanks for Gary Oldman for casting them and bringing the best of them..I loved this movie and I believed it. I would love to see more from Mr. Oldman as a director and a screenwriter, and I think after 20 years of 'Nil By Mouth' being released now it's the time for him to give us another masterpiece

This film is great, it really is. Its an insight into how people like this live, it takes us through hell, then brings us back, we go on a journey with this life. The film has many ugly and beautiful moments. In the first half i thought Billy's heroin addiction was bad but by the end of the film after we've seen Ray and Valerie's issues with domestic violence and alcoholism, i thought Billy actually had an easy life in comparison, so it just shows how bad people's lives are. The scene where Ray Beats Valerie to a pulp is heartbreaking and disturbing and the aftermath of what he'd done to her was just hard to watch. I felt so sorry for Valerie having to live and raise children with Ray, the drunk lunatic. However even Ray shows at the end of the film that he's capable of being a sensible, rational, family man - which is what I found most interesting about the film, how after such violence and madness, how the family was able to fall back to normality at the end. This film is a realistic picture of a dysfunctional and flawed family. Drugs, alcoholism, violence, crime, profanity is normal to these people. As an audience it becomes normal to us too. The cinematography and music are just fantastic, beautifully put together. The acting, especially Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke is some of the best acting i have ever seen... I wanted to cry about three quarters through the film after it had sunk in just how bad some of the problems these people had, despite such hell the film seemed to continue at its chilled out and steady pace, like real life does. There is literally no way anyone can say this film isn't authentic and outstanding cinema, its just an absolute gem. It makes you laugh and cry, and feel sorry for these poor people who are less fortunate than yourself. So touching and beautiful yet so hellish and sad.

Nil By Mouth is not a film made for enjoyment - or even entertainment, for that matter. This is a raw, gritty insight into the very real world of alcoholism, abusive relationships, and general dysfunction.In his directorial debut, Gary Oldman makes no attempt to sugarcoat his perception of life in South London. Utilizing rough dialogue, claustrophobic camera work, grim lighting, and a constant presence of violent tension, he has instead created a cathartic and uncomfortably honest atmosphere from start to finish.The entire cast is pitch-perfect for what this film is trying to achieve- that being to divert from the typical Hollywood 'art imitating life' and into the real, unglamorous, and painful lives that thousands of people world-wide have to face every day. They are not in this film for their looks or reputation, but rather for their ability to capture what it is to be human in broken circumstances. They don't make practiced faces into the camera. They don't spew out Oscar-ready monologues. They don't shed the single, pretty tear down the cheek. No. They forget about the camera's presence and do exactly what you and I would do in their given situations, making them better actors than most A-Listers that you'll see today.Nil By Mouth is a thoroughly unpleasant 2 hour watch, and it will certainly be difficult to sit through. Never-the-less, it is a film that needs to be watched. While film is a great medium for escaping our daily hardships, it can also be used as a means of opening our eyes to the crueler side of life - the life of our neighbours, our friends, or even ourselves. Oldman has achieved this without mercy or restraint, and as a result has created a masterful study of every-day horrors.

Gary Oldman has only written and directed one film, but 'Nil By Mouth', a visceral and ferociously unsentimental portrait of south London's criminal underbelly, reveals a considerable talent in both departments. Ray Winstone and Kathy Burke won most of the plaudits, but in truth, it's an ensemble piece, and all of the cast are excellent. When the colour of the story turns from dark to pitch black about two-thirds of the way through, the viewer is it by a punch reminiscent of those being thrown on-screen. The film reminded me of Mike Leigh's Naked, another movie about a sociopath in London; but whereas Leigh's protagonist was fiercely intelligent and stubbornly attractive in spite of his monstrous behaviour, Winstone plays a man who, while very human, is too far gone to possess any possibility of salvation, and it's arguable that the film is a little too long, given the fact that the audience cannot like this man. But it's still a (literally) striking and horrific movie; and it's a shame that Oldman has not been tempted to get behind the camera since.