Movie Review: All or Nothing

A film like Mike Leigh's "All or Nothing" (2002) is a film about observation and about character, it's the type of film I love because it isn't so much about something that happens, rather it's about what is happening, it exists in the present and what the characters are going through now.

"All or Nothing" takes us inside the lives of lower middle class British society. Every main character lives in the same apartment complex, although the focus is mostly on one family. This family consists of Phil (Timothy Spall) a taxi driver, his companion Penny (Leslie Manville) and their two children Rachel (Alison Garland), and Rory (James Corden). The family no longer functions properly, everyone seems to be cut off from themselves, Rory spends his time on the couch in front of the tv, Rachel stays quiet but observant as to what goes on. Phil has the face of someone who is disappointed with life, Spall's hangdog expression and sad eyes almost remain constant throughout the film, he no longer seems to make the effort to connect, or maybe he has just forgotten. Penny who works as a cashier at Safeway seems to be the one struggling to stay afloat, she's the realist of the family.

The other characters of the building consist of Penny's friend Maureen (Ruth Sheen) who's a single mother with a daughter who becomes pregnant. There is also another friend of Penny's Carol (Marion Bailey), a drunken housewife with a husband who seems to be completely apathetic, and a daughter (Sally Hawkins) who has no respect for either of them.

At around the midway point, an important event happens in "All or Nothing" which takes the characters out of their stupor and most of them are called into action. Mike Leigh is a filmmaker full of humanity perhaps the most than any other filmmaker working today. Despite his character's flaws, he doesn't give up on them and that's when the film becomes so emotionally real.

The climax of "All or Nothing" takes place in the home of Phil and Penny, where they finally have the courage to connect with one another, and it is probably something they haven't done in awhile, and once it happens, you realize just how invested you are in these characters and their situations, it almost comes as a surprise.

I've just seen "All or Nothing" for the first time, but it was a movie that stuck with me afterwards, I got the kind of feeling from it that I do from my favorite movies. Mike Leigh is a director who has been around a long time, he has a tremendous resume of films including "High Hopes", "Secrets and Lies", and "Topsy Turvy" all of which I haven't seen, I have actually only seen his last two films "Happy-Go-Luck" (Featuring Sally Hawkins again in a memorable comedic role) and "Vera Drake" (with Imelda Staunten as a housewife who moonlights as an abortionist for lower class girls). Of those films, I found "All or Nothing" to be the most emotionally satisfying, I was near tears at the end, but it wasn't depressing, it made me feel happy, and like the people in the film, I once again felt a connection.