Nil by Mouth

2/6/19982h 8m

Theatrical Release (US)

Overview:

The family of Raymond, his wife Val and her brother Billy live in working-class London district. Also in their family is Val and Billy's mother Janet and grandmother Kath. Billy is a drug addict and Raymond kicks him out of the house, making him live on his own. Raymond is generally a rough and even violent person, and that leads to problems in the life of the family.

Director:

Gary Oldman

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$9,000,000.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

london, england
heroin
violent husband
addiction
dysfunctional family
alcoholism
domestic violence
working class
drugs
mental illness

Cast

Ray Winstone

~ as ~

Ray

Kathy Burke

~ as ~

Valerie

Charlie Creed-Miles

~ as ~

Billy

Laila Morse

~ as ~

Janet

Edna Doré

~ as ~

Kath

Chrissie Cotterill

~ as ~

Paula

Jon Morrison

~ as ~

Angus

Jamie Foreman

~ as ~

Mark

Neil Maskell

~ as ~

Schmuddie

Steve Sweeney

~ as ~

Danny

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 1 year(s) ago
6
It's Kathy Burke who steals this for me with a powerfully emotional characterisation of "Valerie". She lives with her brutish husband "Raymond" (Ray Winstone) and her permanently geared-up brother "Billy" (Charlie Creed-Miles). None of the are strangers to drugs and to booze, but when her husband reckons his wastrel brother-in-law has pinched his stuff, he turfs him onto the streets where here resorts to his own mother "Janet" (Laila Morse) for a bed and a source of cash to feed his habit. 'Billy" is a bit of a thoughtless cretin and his behaviour leads to even more turmoil for his sister when "Raymond" finally flips and she is hospitalised. Believe it or not, this has the semblance of a love story to it. The relationship between "Raymond" and "Valerie" might actually run a bit deeper than that of an impoverished couple struggling through the motions from day-to-day. It's the evolution of that partnership that makes the characters a bit more interesting, but I felt the vitriolic and angry dialogue was mostly just a repetitive series of Anglo-Saxon tantrums and drug-fuelled anger - and that let it down for me. Still, Gary Oldman quite effectively shines a light on his perception of how life on a south east London housing estate is endured rather than lived. It's dark, visceral, condemnatory on many levels and quite a tough watch but Winstone only has one gear and for me and he never really convinces.