Nil By Mouth (18)

More visceral than any of the actioners he's scenery-chewed his way through during the last decade, Gary Oldman's semi-autobiographical directorial bow takes a bruising, honest look at working-class life south of the river.

You can see the star didn't step behind the camera without genning up on reality-in-the-raw filmmakers like Alan Clarke and John Cassavetes, but there's a tang of authenticity here that could only come from someone who knows the territory first-hand. And like many thesps-turned-helmers, he has real empathy for his cast, a cracking ensemble led by self-pitying pub monster Ray Winstone and brutalised spouse Kathy Burke. (And don't forget Oldman's own sis, Laila `Big Mo' Morse, swearing like a proper EastEnder.)

Feelbad fare? Yes and no, the film sparing us none of the grim details of drug addiction and domestic abuse but caring too much for its characters to slide into misanthropy.

DVD Extras:

None.

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