MovieChat Forums > All or Nothing (2002) Discussion > Does anyone else find this film appallin...

Does anyone else find this film appalling?


Compared to contemporary depictions of the working classes (see Ken Loach, Bleasdale, Clarke and of course other Leigh films) I found this film to be an utterly disgusting, patronising, contrived and most of all stereotypical portrait of the working class.

The characters are unlovable and void of any depth apart from the obligatory 'working class' foibles they present.
I cringe at the thought of Leigh and his colleagues during rehearsals, feeling proud of themselves for creating something 'really gritty and relevant'. Taking into consideration Leigh's middle class background to boot, the film appears nothing but utterly contrived. There is no depth here, and the story felt like herding cats. It's a dirge for the sheer sake of dirge - no social or political comment made, just sad people living dead end lives in a council estate.

I love Leigh's films and think he is probably the cream of British cinema but I found this film appalling. I am shocked to think that this comes from the same person who made 'Naked' and 'Secrets & Lies'.
I saw Leigh at a Q+A at the Cornerhouse in Manchester where he was promoting 'Another Year'. He spoke briefly about how he would be completely depressed if anyone viewed his characters as stereotypical. I'm sorry Mike, but in this film you're on the same level of characterisation as Little Britain.

Sorry for the rant, just wondered if anybody else shared this view?

http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=7917401/ - Vote History

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kind of. i found this film so depressing i almost wished i hadnt watched it. but maybe it is the truth, maybe this is the way most council estate people live. low paid, dead end jobs, no respect for their parents (telling them to f off), kids not getting a job and living off mummy at 26. abusive boyfriends.

I LOVE STEVE WILKOS

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@Last_Entrance I've only seen bits and pieces of All Or Nothing, but it's the type of movie I'd like to watch. What similar movies would you recommend?

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meantime

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Thank you. Roth, Molina, Oldman, that's quite a cast there.

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I would argue that the "social or political comment made" was how people can start to lose hope and become alienated from one another.

Another is how is how the "pop culture" can have an out-sized influence on some people (in this film of course I mean Sam and her pregnant friend) who have little else in the way of optimism and want an escape. Why would either of them suffer that idiot wanker unless they were really missing something in their lives?

How does this occur? How long does it take?
Slowly and a long time.

If the themes were more stark, and the pace quicker, the film would lose some realism; and realism was the target here IMO.

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Secrets & Lies is better,less depressing.

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@Last_Entrance Now that I've watched it properly, there is one moment that struck me as patronising:
When they're visiting Rory in the last scene, he mentions how he ate "green cauliflower stuff." A teenager who doesn't know what broccoli is? OK, I don't care what class he's in, that's patronising.

But apart from that, I didn't have the complaints that you did. If anything, I thought Secrets & Lies was more patronizing towards its main female character, who always seemed on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

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I wouldn't say it was appalling, but it was below par for Mike Leigh (c.f. Naked and Secrets & Lies). The problem isn't really that it's 'one for the masochists', because most Leigh films are, rather, it's that these are dull, one-dimensional, seen-them-all-before characters. You feel empathy for the schmucks, but it adds up to an unsatisfying and so-so story.

Is this your homework, Larry?

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