User Reviews

The raw, hard-hitting 'Meantime' (1983), exploring strong social and political issues of the day (mainly the high unemployment level), evokes the deep working-class despair of "Thatcher's Britain" in the early 1980's. Powerful and gritty in content, 'Meantime' shrewdly captures that era in British cultural history impeccably well. Although the film has its moments of humour, the film is overly razor-sharp and (in my opinion) ranks as one of Mike Leigh's very best films! This, of course, is also largely due to the impressive, stellar cast line-up, boasting the outstanding talents of the dynamic Phil Daniels, Tim Roth, Gary Oldman, Pam Ferris, Marion Bailey, Alfred Molina and Jeff Robert, who each possess the skill and talent of being able to improvise their scenes, proving to be highly effective in this case. The cast are all perfect in their naturalistic style of acting and carefully prepared, astutely observed and expertly structured characterisations.

'Meantime' follows the working-class Pollack family, headed by Mavis (Pam Ferris) and Frank (Jeff Robert) who seemingly have little time for their sons, the mentally-challenged Colin (Tim Roth) and ever-sarcastic and troublesome Mark (Phil Daniels). The Pollack family live on a bleak, run-down council tower block on a rough estate, having to survive on unemployment benefits. All the long, frustrating years of poverty and incessant struggling have virtually made the family give up on life. They don't live, they just exist. They have no dreams or ambitions to speak of, all content on just plodding through life in the only way they know how. Tim Roth is totally superb as Colin. Colin hadn't had much of a chance or the best start in life, having had little encouragement given to him other than by his loving Aunty Barbara. Colin had been bullied incessantly and had the mickey taken out of him all his life. He is not retarded, though, as Tim Roth points out on the interview for this special edition DVD. Rather it's a case of him being severely psychologically damaged from all the years of bullying and being ordered around by others so he doesn't know how to think for himself and gradually over the years had sank deeper and deeper into himself. It must be said that the genuine humanity of the family becomes patently clear near the ending - they all love one another, just all the long , hard years of struggling and living in the grim block of flats had obviously taken its toll, grinding all of them down.

Colin practically follows his older brother Mark (Phil Daniels) around like a loyal puppy, looking up to him and desperately wanting his friendship, love, respect and acceptance. Mark, though, sees Colin as a "muppet", makes fun out of him at every opportunity and orders him around, belittling him, yet loves and protects him at the same time. Eventually Colin befriends one of Marks mates Coxy (Gary Oldman), an even more mentally-challenged lad living on the same estate, who is a skinhead, racist and thug. Phil Daniels is, as always, brilliant in his role. In the first scene at Aunty Barbara's house, he appears completely arrogant and far from likable . Somehow, as the film progresses, you begin to warm to the character, not least down to Phil's excellent performance. You do feel hints of Marks frustration of him being unemployed and its like there's something in him that indeed does want to better himself in some way and find a way out of the dead end lifestyle he'd been living, but sadly not really knowing quite how.

Gary Oldman is also superb as the mentally-challenged and seemingly deranged skinhead Coxy, who Colin mistakenly looks up to. There's a rather off-beat scene where Coxy tales Colin along to visit his girlfriend at her flat where his behaviour becomes more unhinged than ever. There's actually very little of Alfred Molina here, who is in a less interesting role as the superficial, two-timing John. His character has little time or affection for his increasingly frustrated and suppressed wife Barbara. The most touching (and my favourite) scenes are at the end of the film where Colin returns home to the flat after running out of Barbara's, wearing his parka jacket with the hood up; his parents shout at him and Mavis goes to clout him round the ear but Mark intervenes and protects him. Then much to all of their shock, Colin, uncharacteristically, stands up for himself, shouting back at them. From that point on a mutual respect and a deeper bond between Mark and Colin emerges, and they have a heart to heart while Mavis listens from outside the bedroom door and afterwards she (inadvertently) shows she does have feelings. The next morning Mark discovers Colin's skinhead (hence why he slept all night in his parka jacket with the hood up) and jokingly nicknames him Kojak - but this time, and unlike before, he's laughing with him not at him.

'Meantime' is a true British classic and an interesting social document of its time. Utterly compelling from start to finish, not letting your attention lapse until the credits roll, this is a thoroughly absorbing, gritty drama with a top-notch, impressive cast. A pure masterpiece!

Ian Phillips

Mike Leigh's 1984 film Meantime was originally made for TV (one of the first films made by Channel 4, in fact) as Leigh was at the time unable to secure a theatrical release. Indeed, he had to wait another five years before gaining a cinema release for High Hopes (only his second big screen film) , which then thankfully set him on his now well-charted path of cinema film-making. Meantime has therefore attained something of a cult following and is probably one of Leigh's less well-known works. This is a shame as Meantime provides one of the most outstanding, and realistic, portrayals of (London) urban life under Thatcher ever made and is, for me, right up there with Topsy Turvy, Naked, Life Is Sweet and Secrets and Lies as one of Leigh's best ever works.

Principally set on a council estate in Haggerston, East London, Meantime is also notable for featuring three outstanding (and arguably, career-best) performances by three of its main protagonists - brothers Mark Pollack (Phil Daniels) and his mentally slow sibling Colin (Tim Roth, in an amazing performance), and their mate Coxy, a racist skinhead brilliantly played by Gary Oldman.

The film is a near-perfect depiction of the various social milieus predominating in modern-day Britain, both at the time the film was made (1980s) and those prevailing currently (2020s). Meantime's narrative focuses primarily on the social divisions between Mark and Colin's working class family, with their parents Mavis and Frank, brilliantly played by (the now famous) Pam Ferris and Jeff Roberts, respectively, and that of Mavis' sister Barbara (a film-stealing performance here by 'film' debutant, and later Leigh-regular, Marion Bailey) and John (Alfred Molina). From the brilliant opening sequence where Mark and family have gone to visit Barbara and John in their middle (seeking to be upper-middle) class semi-detached in Chigwell, Essex (the residence of choice for many current day footballers), it is clear what Leigh's focus is for the film. This opening scene sets up perfectly what is to follow as Mark answers back to his 'Aunty Barbara' as she patronisingly pets Colin, with parents Mavis and Frank always on the back-foot seething with resentment at Barbara's social pretensions. The sequence where Barbara and John arrange a nest of tables in the lounge with near-military precision before serving tea is absolutely hilarious, and just one of many examples of brilliant Leigh exposition in the film.

In typical Leigh fashion, the film does not contain a single storyline as such, but instead is a sequence of set-pieces designed to illustrate the Pollack family's struggle to survive against prevailing social forces including racism, social services (typified via a superb dole office scene) and soul-destroying poverty. However, Leigh does not let the Pollacks off scot-free, as Frank and Mavis are shown to be their own worst enemies, with petty bickering and Frank habitually lazing around their council flat all day in his pyjamas and dressing gown. Leigh also includes an outstanding scene as the Pollacks are visited by Peter Wight's hippy-like council Estate Manager, who engages with Barbara (visiting her sister at the time) in a key debate around 'economics', which we discover Barbara studied at college, and which Wight disparagingly dismisses as the study of money and power (to which of course Frank, as relating to Barbara, nods knowingly). This scene can perhaps be regarded as something of a precursor to Wight's magnum opus scene with David Thewlis in Naked.

Given the superficially depressing and cynical nature of Leigh's storyline and characters, he does (as is his wont), however, provide some degree of positive (albeit mixed) resolution as Barbara and John are shown to be just as fractious a couple as Mavis and Frank, and, most importantly, Mark's underlying affection for brother Colin is finally revealed more explicitly as the two share a joke at the film's conclusion.

A final word on some of the acting on display here. Marion Bailey's performance demonstrates, for me, what is so impressive about Mike Leigh's method, eliciting such a natural, but brilliant, performance exuding aloofness, confidence, tenderness, doubt and finally hysteria. It is perhaps surprising that Bailey does not appear to have recaptured such form in later performances, albeit she was also very good in Leigh's later All Or Nothing and Vera Drake. Mention should also be made of the excellent Tilly Vosburgh as Hayley, put-upon and long-suffering friend of Mark and Coxy.

The film also features a great soundtrack written by Andrew Dickson and comprising a sparse mix of ominous, tinkling piano interspersed with tenor saxophone (one of Mike Leigh's favourites, apparently). This was Dickson's first score for Leigh, and was followed by soundtracks for many later Leigh films including Vera Drake, Secrets and Lies and Naked.

A must-see classic from a master film-maker.