Nil by Mouth (1997)

The family of Raymond, his wife Val and her brother Billy live in working-class London district. Also in their family is Val and Billy's mother Janet and grandmother Kath. Billy is a drug ... See full summary »

Director:

Gary Oldman

Writer:

Gary Oldman (screenplay)

Stars:

Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ray Winstone	...	Ray
Kathy Burke	...	Valerie
Charlie Creed-Miles	...	Billy
Laila Morse	...	Janet
Edna Doré	...	Kath
Chrissie Cotterill	...	Paula
Jon Morrison	...	Angus
Jamie Foreman	...	Mark
Steve Sweeney	...	Danny
Terry Rowley	...	M.C. in Club
Sam Miller	...	Club Comic
Leah Fitzgerald	...	Michelle
Gerry Bromfield	...	Drug Dealer
Neil Maskell	...	Schmuddie
Sid Golder	...	Old Guy in Window

Storyline

The family of Raymond, his wife Val and her brother Billy live in working-class London district. Also in their family is Val and Billy's mother Janet and grandmother Kath. Billy is a drug addict and Raymond kicks him out of the house, making him live on his own. Raymond is generally a rough and even violent person, and that leads to problems in the life of the family.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | drug addict | working class | marriage | junkie | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for graphic drug use, non-stop strong language, brutal domestic violence and some nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics

Country:

UK France

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 February 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Erään perheen elämästä

Filming Locations:

Camberwell, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

SE8 Group, EuropaCorp

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gary Oldman injected $1.4 million of his own money into the film.

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Goofs

A boom mic is visible in the supermarket parking lot.

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Quotes

Ray: She took his dinner in to him once. Me mum, in the pub, and plonked it in front of him on a tray. Knife and fork, salt and pepper. He said, "What's that?" She said, "It's your dinner. I thought you might be hungry. You ain't eaten for three fucking days. You live in here, you might as well fucking eat in here." It's funny. He didn't like that, did he? Mugged him up in front of his mates. Thought more of them cunts than he did us. Lovely. Yeah. She got a clump over that. Well, she would, ...
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in Don't Crash: The Documentary of the Making of the Movie of the Book of the Radio Series of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' (2005)

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Soundtracks

"Pandora"
Written by Frances Ashman, Martin Watson and Giseppe Acunzo
Performed by Frances Ashman

User Reviews

No cockney gangsters, No Hugh Grant. Nuff said.

The words "gritty", "British" and "drama" usually and rightfully condemn a film to the Guy "Windsor" Ritchie hall of excrement . Having seen these terms applied to Oscar contenders like "Goodbye Charlie Bright", "Rancid aluminium" and "Love, honour and obey", I wasn't really expecting much from this film. Saying I was wrong would be a huge understatement. "Nil by Mouth" is an awesome achievement. A razor sharp dissection of a working class south London family that delivers the required punch on so many levels that you need to have a wash after watching it. It covers a vast spectrum of emotions that will see you (especially if you're British) laugh, cry and more often than not, hold your head in despair at witnessing an all too true account of what it is to be at the bottom of the British class system. It is unflinchingly brutal and somewhat depressing, yet at the same time shows how with guts, determination and a healthy sense of humour, people can survive even the most bleak and hopeless of situations. Kathy Burke is outstanding and Ray Winstone is dependable as ever, but Gary Oldman's screenplay and direction are the stars of the show. This script could stand on it's own as a fine social commentary on par, and not dissimilar from John King's "The Football Factory" and "Headhunters". Thankfully Oldman has also realised that in terms of direction, "gritty" does not have to mean the static, cold and quite frankly boring as hell style that so many British films have. The camera moves with a documentary feel energy, yet the slick cinematography keeps it from ever looking cheap. Quite simply one of the greatest British films of all time. 9/10