A slow-burning depiction of economic degradation in Thatchers England, Mike Leighs "Meantime" is the culmination of the writer-directors pioneering work in television. Unemployment is rampant in Londons working-class East End, where a middle-aged couple and their two sons languish in a claustrophobic public-housing flat. As the brothers (Phil Daniels and Tim Roth) grow increasingly disaffected, Leigh punctuates the grinding boredom of their daily existence with tense encounters, including with a priggish aunt (Marion Bailey) who has managed to become middle-class and a blithering skinhead on the verge of psychosis (a scene-stealing Gary Oldman, in his first major role). Informed by Leighs now trademark improvisational process and propelled by the lurching rhythms of its Beckett-like dialogue, "Meantime" is an unrelenting, often blisteringly funny look at life on the dole.
Format | DVD |
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Release Date | Aug 15, 2017 |
Genre | Drama |
Actors | Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Marion Bailey, Pam Ferris, Jeff Robert, Gary Oldman, Tilly Vosburgh, Alfred Molina |
Director | Mike Leigh |
Screen Format | Widescreen |
Sound | Monaural |
Language | English |
Sub Titles | English SDH |
Video Aspect | 1.66:1 |
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