brilliant actors, brilliant editing

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Along with Alan Clark and Ken Loach Mike Leigh was at the forefront of British social realist . Of these three directors I always found Clarke the most incisive of the trio and SCUM is still well regarded even by people who were born after the release of the cinema version in 1979 . Loach however became a parody of a professional socialist shouting on a soap box and his films became increasingly polemical masturbation fantasy involving the oppressed proles . Leigh is somewhat different from his two peers . While he doesn't stuff politics down the audiences throat he hasn't really made a film with the same impact as SCUM . That said I do remember seeing MEANTIME on Channel 4 in the 1980s , liking it and discussing with my peers . Over 30 years later it has an amazing cast of British actors before they well known Leigh has always had a reputation of spotting potential raw talent and of the cast Phil Daniels was by the far best known cast member of this production . Roth , Oldman , Molina and even Pam Ferris would have to be slightly patient before becoming well known thespians . Watching the talent here is no surprise that Oldman and Roth moved in to international stardom . Roth plays a retarded social outcast trying to find his way in life while Oldman plays a fascist National Front skinhead The downside is that MEANTIME is a very mundane , low concept film where very little happens . In fact the only incident of note is Oldman's fascist sharing a lift with a big black guy . That said it is a window on the world of Thatcher's Britain where a haircut might cost as much as £1.20 and the hourly rate of pay in a dead end job was £1.70 . Most nostalgic of all was the drug of choice being Carlsberg Special Brew . Apart from that MEANTIME isn't nearly as good as I remembered it as

The raw, hard-hitting 'Meantime' (1983), exploring strong social and political issues of the day (mainly the high unemployment level), evokes the deep working-class despair of "Thatcher's Britain" in the early 1980's. Powerful and gritty in content, 'Meantime' shrewdly captures that era in British cultural history impeccably well. Although the film has its moments of humour, the film is overly razor-sharp and (in my opinion) ranks as one of Mike Leigh's very best films! This, of course, is also largely due to the impressive, stellar cast line-up, boasting the outstanding talents of the dynamic Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Pam Ferris, Marion Bailey, Alfred Molina and Jeff Robert, who each possess the skill and talent of being able to improvise their scenes, proving to be highly effective in this case. The cast are all perfect in their naturalistic style of acting and carefully prepared, astutely observed and expertly structured characterisations.'Meantime' follows the working-class Pollack family, headed by Mavis (Pam Ferris) and Frank (Jeff Robert) who seemingly have little time for their sons, the mentally-challenged Colin (Tim Roth) and ever-sarcastic and troublesome Mark (Phil Daniels). The Pollack family live on a bleak, run-down council tower block on a rough estate, having to survive on unemployment benefits. All the long, frustrating years of poverty and incessant struggling have virtually made the family give up on life. They don't live, they just exist. They have no dreams or ambitions to speak of, all content on just plodding through life in the only way they know how. Tim Roth is totally superb as Colin. Colin hadn't had much of a chance or the best start in life, having had little encouragement given to him other than by his loving Aunty Barbara. Colin had been bullied incessantly and had the mickey taken out of him all his life. He is not retarded, though, as Tim Roth points out on the interview for this special edition DVD. Rather it's a case of him being severely psychologically damaged from all the years of bullying and being ordered around by others so he doesn't know how to think for himself and gradually over the years had sank deeper and deeper into himself. It must be said that the genuine humanity of the family becomes patently clear near the ending - they all love one another, just all the long , hard years of struggling and living in the grim block of flats had obviously taken its toll, grinding all of them down.Colin practically follows his older brother Mark (Phil Daniels) around like a loyal puppy, looking up to him and desperately wanting his friendship, love, respect and acceptance. Mark, though, sees Colin as a "muppet", makes fun out of him at every opportunity and orders him around, belittling him, yet loves and protects him at the same time. Eventually Colin befriends one of Marks mates Coxy (Gary Oldman), an even more mentally-challenged lad living on the same estate, who is a skinhead, racist and thug. Phil Daniels is, as always, brilliant in his role. In the first scene at Aunty Barbara's house, he appears completely arrogant and far from likable . Somehow, as the film progresses, you begin to warm to the character, not least down to Phil's excellent performance. You do feel hints of Marks frustration of him being unemployed and its like there's something in him that indeed does want to better himself in some way and find a way out of the dead end lifestyle he'd been living, but sadly not really knowing quite how.Gary Oldman is also superb as the mentally-challenged and seemingly deranged skinhead Coxy, who Colin mistakenly looks up to. There's a rather off-beat scene where Coxy tales Colin along to visit his girlfriend at her flat where his behaviour becomes more unhinged than ever. There's actually very little of Alfred Molina here, who is in a less interesting role as the superficial, two-timing John. His character has little time or affection for his increasingly frustrated and suppressed wife Barbara. The most touching (and my favourite) scenes are at the end of the film where Colin returns home to the flat after running out of Barbara's, wearing his parka jacket with the hood up; his parents shout at him and Mavis goes to clout him round the ear but Mark intervenes and protects him. Then much to all of their shock, Colin, uncharacteristically, stands up for himself, shouting back at them. From that point on a mutual respect and a deeper bond between Mark and Colin emerges, and they have a heart to heart while Mavis listens from outside the bedroom door and afterwards she (inadvertently) shows she does have feelings. The next morning Mark discovers Colin's skinhead (hence why he slept all night in his parka jacket with the hood up) and jokingly nicknames him Kojak - but this time, and unlike before, he's laughing with him not at him.'Meantime' is a true British classic and an interesting social document of its time. Utterly compelling from start to finish, not letting your attention lapse until the credits roll, this is a thoroughly absorbing, gritty drama with a top-notch, impressive cast. A pure masterpiece!Ian Phillips

I'm a big fan of Mike Leigh's gritty films, and 'Meantime' fits well into his admirable canon. He examines the lives of 'ordinary people' unlike any other filmmaker I know. Here, his microscope (forget the lens) is on a NON-working class (perhaps proletarian without the peasant's earth) family in 'estate' housing in the wretched suburbs of London. Once again, as in all his films, Leigh, using his well-known improvisational rehearsal-and-execution technique, receives razor-sharp performances from his cast. At the centre of this work are two simply superb performances: Phil Daniels as Mark and Tim Roth as his mentally 'slow' younger brother Colin. Anyone who has had a sibling will recognize the evolution of the relationship between these two. It's universal in its reach.Splendid acting abounds and carries 'Meantime'. As the parents, Jeff Robert and Pam Ferris are all-but-tactile with their sizzling frustration and rage. Gary Oldman as a deeply disaffected youngster is wonderful. A very brief scene where he rolls in a barrel, mindlessly banging it with both hands, is both riveting and disturbing.The quibbles I have with this film are perhaps minor to some, but of concern to me. One is Andrew Dickson's music. Is that a zither playing in an Egyptian carnival dance band? It is initially just jarring, but then it becomes downright annoying and intrusive.I quite frankly could have used subtitles in 'Meantime'. Whole sentences just went past me. It's necessary for the stark social realism of Leigh's settings, but for non-Londoners, this can, at times, be rough going. I listened to fragments of this dialogue and it became an exercise in linguistic irony: these characters live in the country where the English language was BORN.Doesn't matter; it's still a great and very moving film.

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)