Capital Celluloid 2022 — Day 281: Wed Oct 12

Nil By Mouth (Oldman, 1997): BFI Southbank, NFT1, 8.45pm

66th LONDON FILM FESTIVAL (5th - 16th October 2022) DAY 8

Every day (from October 5th to October 16th) I will be selecting the London Film Festival choices you have a chance to get tickets for and the movies you are unlikely to see in London very soon unless you go to see them at the Festival. Here is the LFF's main website for the general information you need. Don't worry if some of the recommended films are sold out by the time you read this as there are always some tickets on offer which go on sale 30 minutes before each screening.

Time Out review:
The actor Gary Oldman's debut as writer/director is so uncompromisingly honest, it makes other portraits of working-class life look like sour caricature or misplaced idealism. Oldman grew up in south east London, the setting for this tale of macho violence, drunkenness, drug addiction and petty crime, and very clearly knows what he's talking about. He's helped, of course, by stunning performances from his entire cast, most notably Winstone as the volatile but self-pitying Ray, given to beating up his long-suffering wife (Kathy Burke) and threatening her irresponsible junkie brother (Charlie Creed-Miles). There's no sermonising or romanticising here, just a sad, clear-eyed acknowledgement that domestic abuse and crime create a vicious circle from which many barely even try to escape. Shot and scripted in a deceptively casual, bleakly 'realist' style, it's the closest Britain has produced to a Cassavetes film, and as such, profoundly humane.
Geoff Andrew

Here (and above) is the trailer.

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