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Nil by Mouth

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6.9/10 • 138

1997-10-102h 8m

Drama

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.

Directors
Gary Oldman
Writters
Gary Oldman
Editors
Gary Oldman, Brad Fuller

Top Billed Cast

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  1. Ray Winstone

    Ray Winstone

    Ray

  2. Kathy Burke

    Kathy Burke

    Valerie

  3. Charlie Creed-Miles

    Charlie Creed-Miles

    Billy

  4. Laila Morse

    Laila Morse

    Janet

  5. Edna Doré

    Edna Doré

    Kath

  6. Chrissie Cotterill

    Chrissie Cotterill

    Paula

  7. Jon Morrison

    Jon Morrison

    Angus

  8. Jamie Foreman

    Jamie Foreman

    Mark

  9. Neil Maskell

    Neil Maskell

    Schmuddie

Reviews1

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CinemaSerf Avatar

CinemaSerf

May 27, 2024

6/10

It's Kathy Burke who steals this for me with a powerfully emotional characterisation of "Valerie". She lives with her brutish husband "Raymond" (Ray Winstone) and her permanently geared-up brother "Billy" (Charlie Creed-Miles). None of the are strangers to drugs and to booze, but when her husband reckons his wastrel brother-in-law has pinched his stuff, he turfs him onto the streets where here resorts to his own mother "Janet" (Laila Morse) for a bed and a source of cash to feed his habit. 'Billy" is a bit of a thoughtless cretin and his behaviour leads to even more turmoil for his sister when "Raymond" finally flips and she is hospitalised. Believe it or not, this has the semblance of a love story to it. The relationship between "Raymond" and "Valerie" might actually run a bit deeper than that of an impoverished couple struggling through the motions from day-to-day. It's the evolution of that partnership that makes the characters a bit more interesting, but I felt the vitriolic and angry dialogue was mostly just a repetitive series of Anglo-Saxon tantrums and drug-fuelled anger - and that let it down for me. Still, Gary Oldman quite effectively shines a light on his perception of how life on a south east London housing estate is endured rather than lived. It's dark, visceral, condemnatory on many levels and quite a tough watch but Winstone only has one gear and for me and he never really convinces.

Media

  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster
  • Nil by Mouth poster

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Status
Released
Original Language
English
Budget
$9,000,000.00
Revenue
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Keywords
london, englandheroinviolent husbandaddictiondysfunctional familyalcoholismdomestic violenceworking classdrugsmental illness