Gotta be quick, then. Ten films to chug through. The special stuff is mostly recycled, but the release of Naked is a UK first and there’s a superb new extra with Leigh gassing to all the key actors individually (no David Thewlis, mind). So, on to the movies… Bleak Moments (1971), Meantime (1984) and High Hopes (1985) is Leigh’s trilogy of pre/post-Thatcher social outrage. Meantime is the pick – an urgent and harrowing study of an unemployment-addled London estate, propelled by a titanic trio of performances (Gary Oldman, Tim Roth, Phil Daniels). Life Is Sweet (1990) finds Leigh in perkier mood, celebrating (no, not patronising) the working-class whirl of a North London suburban family.
Read the full The Mike Leigh Film Collection review
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