what we saw was a "very dark copy" of a movie (some of the scenes are extremely dark and we almost saw nothing happening there). good photography, maybe too close to the protagonists (the viewer is constantly pushing their intimacy, which is a cheap trick when you don't have strong story so you make one based on the faces of the actors - sometimes it works out OK).
the core of the story and it's resolvability is too weak. there is nothing but (social) darkness. very emile zola style. no hope. nothing changed. the movie, in which characters don't change - think about it - that is the ground necessity of the movie, to change its characters so you get some message, so you learn something, something calls for action inside you. everything is extremely apathetic and slowed down in the misery here so you also become that way. yes, you can feel some compassion, but there is nothing you could do. there is no solution and no message (except its the story about "hard working people from the edge").
bottom line: Mike Leigh is so much better in making the same point and he won't leave you with nothing to take home. so if you are craving that kind of movies, seek elsewhere.
the core of the story and it's resolvability is too weak. there is nothing but (social) darkness. very emile zola style. no hope. nothing changed. the movie, in which characters don't change - think about it - that is the ground necessity of the movie, to change its characters so you get some message, so you learn something, something calls for action inside you. everything is extremely apathetic and slowed down in the misery here so you also become that way. yes, you can feel some compassion, but there is nothing you could do. there is no solution and no message (except its the story about "hard working people from the edge").
bottom line: Mike Leigh is so much better in making the same point and he won't leave you with nothing to take home. so if you are craving that kind of movies, seek elsewhere.