FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1998 All Rights Reserved.
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| FILM Nil By Mouth There rarely has been so bleak or dour a film as Nil By Mouth, a docu-drama by actor Gary Oldman (Immortal Beloved). Shot on 16mm with the raw feel of available light and hand-held photography, the film makes absolutely no concessions to the viewer. Nil By Mouth turns on the rages of a drunken brute named Raymond (Ray Winstone), the father figure by default in an extended family that includes his pregnant wife Valerie (Kathy Burke), their young daughter, Valerie's junkie brother Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles), mother-in-law Janet (Laila Morse, Oldman's sister) and Janet's mother Kath (Edna Dore). They live day-to-day, working small jobs and taking the dole, earning enough to pay rent on run-down apartments and to cover frequent forays to the pub. Raymond regularly drinks himself into a blind fury, which he takes out on whomever happens to be near him. He is set off by the slightest provocation, whether it be slow bar service or Billy's heroin addiction, which he feeds through thievery and handouts. Only the women of the family show any redeeming qualities. The four generations of mothers and daughters band together to heal physical and emotional wounds as best they can, weathering the rage of the men in their attempt to find some form of entropy in their lives. Nil By Mouth contains some of the best acting I've ever seen on film. Kathy Burke (who won best actress award at last year's Cannes Film Festival) and Ray Winstone lead the cast of thoroughly believable characters, and during most of the film it's difficult to believe that what we're seeing is actually scripted and performed. Oldman's dialogue perfectly captures his memories of a working-class life in London. The film's greatest flaw (and it's a big one) is that more than half of its 130 minutes is a set-up of the dramatic situation. Scene after scene of dirty joke after dirty joke, drunken nights at bars, Raymond's temper tantrums and Billy shooting up can tax even the most patient of viewers. We've seen it all before and Oldman's lack of experience in directing turns the scenes into an indulgence that undermines the rest of the story. Also, for most viewers, the brutality presented here towards women may seem gratuitous even though it is part of the fabric of these people's lives. As a performance piece, Nil By Mouth rings true and rates as a skilled accomplishment. As an artistic statement, it fails because it provides no new turns in the nihilistic depiction of life-on-the-skids, nor does it offer any answers where answers are so desperately needed. |
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