I watched an interesting if somewhat twisted movie of middle class Brits dealing with dysfunctional lives and what I would call the unbearable reality of being average. The film, All or Nothing centers around a middle-aged supermarket worker named Penny who's is dealing with her waning love for her husband Phil and the feeling of her life passing her by. The acting is superb and the characters are as real they come. Lesley Manville (Penny) and Timothy Spall (Phil) are hauntingly real. You care about these people. You feel for their sadness and desperation. You want to help them and you want them to be okay.

The story is a downer almost from the start as Writer and Director, Mike Leigh's dour outlook on life is hard to hide despite the uplifting ending. Overall, it is a great study in character development from both the acting and writing standpoints as the characters are so real, that it plays more like a documentary than a film. It would have recieved a better rating had it left me with a more uplifting message.



RATING 8 out of 10

- posted by Chris @ 12:13 AM