Jonathan and Wendy come to blows over
Mike Leigh.

"We're born alone and we die alone," moans lazy cabbie Phil (Timothy Spall) while his common-law wife Penny (Lesley Manville) sits at the supermarket checkout, fending for their two fat kids. Mike Leigh returns to more familiar ground after the period drama of Topsy-Turvy, with a tale of emotional exhaustion on a council estate. But is it any good? All or nothing? Take your pick…

Against:
At some time over the last few years, Mike Leigh started to believe his own mythology. Take that acclaimed “method” of his for example – improvisation, freedom for the actors to create their own characters. Unfortunately this also allows the actors to turn in the kind of shrieking, exaggerated performances that litter this film. You’re the director Mike, you’re supposed to prevent this. And then there’s the fact that the urban realism has segued into Leigh World, an anachronistic view of working-class London where an entire housing estate apparently contains no ethnic minorities, and the people who do live there are charmless, hopeless, worthless wrecks. It’s hard to respect characters when the director so clearly doesn’t. Wendy Ide

For:
It’s true, Leigh’s films have occasionally veered towards caricature, but All Or Nothing is his best work to date, on a par with Meantime (1981). By its nature, drama needs to focus and Leigh sets most of his scenes in confined spaces, like Phil’s cab or beside a hospital bed. So how can we possibly know who else lives on the estate? And why would we want to? That would only weaken the claustrophobic core of the film. As for the performances, some of the younger actors are a little shrill, but Spall is heartbreaking. And, personally, I’m all for Leigh World. What’s the point of a film unless the filmmaker doesn’t stamp his or her mark on their work? Jonathan Carter 17 October 02

All or Nothing, on national release 18 October 02.

useful link: BBCi Films: Mike Leigh interview