Tonight I watched a small gem from director Mike Leigh called "Meantime"(1983). You'll remember Leigh from last week; we mentioned him in our review for "The Tree of Wooden Clogs", for which he did an introduction. Leigh is known for his light, observational comedies, his heyday as a filmmaker was in the 80s and 90s. I hadn't heard of "Meantime", which was made for BBC Television, but it's been restored by Criterion and I found it in a search of same.
One thing that's notable is that it marks only the second screen appearance of two famous actors : Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, both of whom are very young here. This is likely the first starring role for Roth, who plays a mentally challenged youth from a lower class London family. Oldman has a substantial supporting role, probably his breakout performance as well, as an agitated Skinhead.
Roth lives with his parents and brother in a large apartment complex in a decrepit part of London. Their building resembles the concrete behemoths you'd see in the old Soviet Bloc, with enough units to house an entire town. It's a depressing place to live and the family members' attitudes reflect this. His older brother Mark (Phil Daniels, in an excellent performance) challenges his unemployed father at every turn. Mark is unemployed himself, but doesn't see the hypocrisy in his verbal parrying with Dad. He seems protective of his slow witted brother Colin (played by Roth), and doesn't want him hanging around the dangerous Coxy (Oldman), but he also exhibits jealousy toward Colin, who has no expectations placed on him due to his disability. In reality, Mark's parents expect little of him either. The only time his father tells him to get a job is when Mark ridicules him for his own unemployment. Dad's become accustomed to life on the dole, but knows what it meant to work and support a family. Mark on the other hand fancies himself a know-it-all but has never had a job. His parents have written him off because of his snotty attitude. He's really just rebelling against his lot in life, a situation his folks have long since given up on. They bicker all day long, but never really fight, and more or less accept that this is all they will ever have - a dreary apartment, two unemployed sons (one inconsiderate, one incapable), and a government check that pays for the basics and nothing else. It is really Mom (Pam Ferris) who runs the household. She has no job or income but refers to the apartment as "her" house, simply because she does all the work, cooking & cleaning etc.
Mom has a sister, though, whose station is quite different. Aunt Barbara (Marion Bailey) lives in a two story home in a nice suburb of London, with her judgemental husband (Alfred Molina). Aunt Barbara has been to college and has a degree in economics. Unlike her distant hubby, she does not comment on her sister's family. Instead, she tries to help by offering Colin a job helping her to paint her house. Now, Colin can barely function on his own. He may be autistic, though the movie was made before that term was fully understood. So Aunt Barbara's offer may be wishful thinking, however, Colin accepts the job if for no other reason than he feels pressure to do so. But then, in what amounts to the only real plotline in the film, his brother Mark shows up at the house in an attempt to derail Colin's opportunity. This sabotage on Mark's part will stem from an amalgamation of all his feelings toward his brother, the protectiveness and the jealousy, and also his ongoing need to show up his parents, who put a roof over his head but embarrass him by their poverty.
What is genius about this film is that it's never for a moment heavy handed. Leigh has his actors speak in lower-class slang, which comes of a teasing rather than confrontational, so even when you think their remarks would lead to punch outs, they never do. Everyone mouths off, but they all tolerate each other, which I think is the message of the film. It's supposed to show the effects of an economic crisis (which England was going through in the late 70s and which resulted in Punk Rock) on the working classes - what happens when the workers can't get jobs? Well, their children grow up to resent society, first in the form of their parents.
It's a brilliant movie, full of great acting and dialogue. You get used to the slang after awhile (though I had to use subtitles for the first half hour, haha), and the writing is so good that it doesn't matter there is little in the way of plot. "Meantime" is a "slice of life" movie, where we watch the characters act out their neuroses. Watching along with us is Colin, the dimwitted son. He is mostly silent, soaking up what goes on around him. If he has an example to follow it is likely to be Coxy the Skinhead, for at least he projects something resembling strength, at least in Colin's eyes.
I absolutely loved "Meantime". It runs 107 minutes, and at the end I was wishing it could keep going, a rare instance for me where I wanted a picture to be longer. In fact, I could've watched this group for three hours, so well developed were the characters. Their lives may be dull as dishwater, but they themselves are not.
I will be looking for more of Mike Leigh's work, and I give "Meantime" Two Huge Thumbs Up. It's highly recommended for anyone who appreciates the English sense of humor and way of speaking. Also, you get to take a time machine back to the days of punk, which - even if you weren't a punk rock fan (and I was not) - was an interesting time in English cultural history. /////
Elizabeth, I enjoyed your photos from the Mines of Spain. I had to Google it, because I thought, "wait a minute.....she can't actually be in Spain, can she"? I mean, I know you could be in Spain because you are quite the World Traveler, but you hadn't mentioned anything about it, lol, so I Googled "Mines of Spain" and saw that it is a state park in Iowa, about 90 miles from you. That was a nice picture of you and your Mom. I also liked the clip of the train going by. I'm glad you are getting out on some awesome hikes (including the ice caves last week), and I also liked your post late last night in FB Stories, of the impromptu concert with your neighbors. That was really cool, and I'm glad they like Bad Company. :)
I wish my neighbors liked Bad Company, or any classic rock n' roll instead of disco!
But yeah, that's great that you have musically talented neighbors, and they can say the same thing about you, in spades. :):)
It's Sunday afternoon and I am writing from home. We had good singin' in church. I got to do a mini-solo during our anthem, just a couple of lines but it was fun. Now I'm getting ready to head up to Aliso or maybe Chatsworth Park. I'll see you tonight at the Usual Time.
Tons and tons of love! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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