Meantime (1983)
A working-class family in London's East End is struggling to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Only the mother Mavis is working; father Frank and the couple's two sons Colin, a timid, chronically shy individual and Mark, an outspoken, headstrong young man, are on the dole. This situation is contrasted by the presence of Mavis's sister Barbara, and her husband John, whose financial and social loftiness appears to be a comfortable facade over the unspoken soreness of a lackluster marriage.
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Memorable, crazy movie
A waste of 90 minutes of my life
It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
Anybody who downvotes this film and says 'yeah i'm from London' (but grew up in a middle class household) knows absolutely nothing about this era...i'm a Stoke lad (so yeah i grew up in a Kes era up north) but i was also forced to live in london during the 80's/90's...This film captures all that Thatcherism did to the UK.. I'm a working class lad, yes i've been on the dole (i know what a UB40 was) so to come over and ridicule this is appalling. Faux critics in their ivory towers...meh...the sheer audacity. I've lived this life, and Mike Leigh does a terrific job at portraying it...Also Phil Daniels needs some recognition on a great turn...so before you go mouthing off over nothing you know about...consider the past reality. Peace and love to all.
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.
What happens here happens in the space between events that usually constitute a plot, in the meantime. There are only temporary allegiances between characters, if at all, before one will turn on the other, destroying any impulse that reaches upwards, beyond the meantime. A film like this works or doesn't work depending on the acting. The characters are not merely collections of traits, they do not represent abstract ideas. Their complexity and opacity alone make or break the film, whether or not it is grounded in reality. No answers, only questions. No ideas, only experiences.I came to this after hearing solid praise for Mike Leigh's work.
I wasn't expecting to enjoy the film but the amazing characters and acting pulls you in. I fell in love with Tim Roth. He was apsolutely adorable. Gary Oldman is also very stunning. I was stunned by his performance.