Nil by Mouth

Horrorphile

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Nil by Mouth

September 7th 2010 23:32

“I remembered that day ... because I could've put that on his fucking tombstone, you know? Because I don't remember one kiss, you know, one cuddle. Nothing. I mean, plenty went down, not a lot come out. You know, nothing that was any fucking good ... He was fucking freezing cold. It frightened the life out of me. I was looking at him, you know? For the first time in my life, I talked to him. I said, ‘Why didn't you ever love me?’” --- Raymond

Based on his own experiences growing up Gary Oldman penned Nil by Mouth (1997) an utterly uncompromising, searing portrait of addiction and violence. With French director Luc Besson co-producing Oldman directed his debut (and only, so far) feature, the grim as nails life and times of South-East Londoner Raymond (Ray Winstone), his pregnant wife Val (Kathy Burke), her young brother Billy (Charlie Miles-Creed), and their immediate friends and family. It is a devastating, blistering nightmare of working class urban disease.

Ray Winstone as Raymond

Billy is an adolescent, a junkie, and a thief. He does petty crime for Ray and his mate Mark (Jamie Foreman, son of the notorious Cockney gangster Freddie Foreman), and steals Ray’s stash. Ray is a violent, belligerent thug and an addict too, and doesn’t think twice in viciously assaulting Billy when he confronts him over the theft. They are a family trapped in a vicious circle of drug and alcohold abuse and domestic violence. But the worst is yet to be unleashed.

Val and Billy’s mother Janet (Laila Morse, Oldman’s sister) spends much of her time socialising with them, and their grandmother Kath (Edna Doré) is often included in get-togethers, as is Michelle (Leah Fitzgerald), Ray and Val’s young daughter. Billy hangs out with his heavily tattooed mate Danny (Steve Sweeney). Val hangs out with her girlfriend Paula (Chrissie Cotteril) and her partner Angus (Jon Morrison). They all spend much of their time at the local pub or in front of the telly at home getting blitzed, but no one more so than Ray, while Billy’s smack habit is getting out of control.

Charlie Miles-Creed as Billy

Shot with mostly handheld camera, using available light, filling the background with non-professional actors and locals as extras, and employing the thick Cockney vernacular, Nil by Mouth has an authenticity and gritty realism like a fly-on-the-wall documentary. This is enhanced ten-fold by the extraordinarily convincing acting of the core cast, of which Ray Winstone’s central performance is monumental in its ferocity and conviction (his inebriated monologue to his own reflection is something to behold). How he could not have been nominated for an Academy Award is a travesty (just as David Thewlis’s snub was for Naked). Mind you Kathy Burke is particularly affecting (and upsetting as her character drinks and smokes whilst pregnant), and she won Best Actress at Cannes for her role as Valerie.

Kathy Burke as Valerie

I have never seen such a frightening drunkard on film as the Raymond of Nil by Mouth. The movie is dedicated to the memory of Oldman’s father, so is it safe to assume that Raymond is modeled on Gary’s own dad? If so, Nil by Mouth is a desperately sad obituary, depicting the harshest of truths that most violence is part of a cycle of poverty and bad parenting. It might sound like a terribly clichéd analogy, but love makes the world go round, without it the cogs seize, the giant machine crashes, and blood is spilled.

Laila Morse as Janet

What is most horrendous is not Billy’s junk habit, not any of the appalling verbal abuse hurled from the mouths of Billy to his mother, or from Ray to Billy or Val. There is a scene of physical violence when Ray assaults Val and beats the living daylights out of her borne of his own drunken jealousy and coke-addled paranoia. The beating is terrible to witness (although it’s actually delivered out of shot from the camera), but when we see the horrific nature of Val’s injuries and her denial to her mother that it was Ray who beat her, the effect is absolutely devastating. This is the kind of violence too close to home, the kind that riddles broken families, the kind that is so often never reported.

Mark (Jamie Foreman) lets fly at Ray

As repellent and harrowing as this domestic scenario and its surrounding seedy London working class is, Gary Oldman has made a darkly brilliant and dangerously compelling movie. The last scene echoes on a disquieting note; the extended family gathered around discussing the plight of incarcerated young Billy who has narrowly escaped death. They joke about him being moved to the infirmary wing housing the freaks where he’ll probably get raped. The family is re-forming a dysfunctional bond, over the violent misfortune of one of their own. Very little has changed. This is no morality tale, yet Nil by Mouth paints a hellish picture that speaks a thousand hardened words.

Ray lets fly at Val

Special note must go to the awesome special effects make-up applied to Kathy Burke (although how her wounds heal faster than the “love bite” on Billy’s nose is a small distraction), and to the use of music; Eric Clapton provides a surprisingly low-key score, while additional songs are used to punctuate scenes, including two evocative nu-soul tracks from singer Frances Ashman. The movie also holds the record for the feature with the most frequent use of the word “fuck” and its variations (the more offensive “cunt” gets a thorough working over as well), some 522 utterances! That’s one potty-mouthed purge you spilled forth Mr. Oldman! Bravo!

Just a coupla fuckin' lagers luv!

“When you go out, you go with your mates ... and when you are in, you're pissed asleep in front of the television. I'll turn the television off, go to bed ... you follow me at three in the morning stinking of booze. That's what I get. Either that or you're knocking me about. I'm 32 today, you know, and I feel so fucking old. You know, I'm so tired. I wanna be able to look back and say, 'I had a bit of fun.' Instead of saying, ‘Everyone fucking felt sorry for me.’ I mean, that's the life I've got. Do you hear what I'm saying? I just don't want it. I'll find somebody else. You know, someone who can love me. Someone kind.” --- Val

This is the second in my three-movie series "An English Hell".

Here’s the trailer:

... jush a couple more lagers

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

9 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by JMD

September 8th 2010 02:20

I have not heard of this movie. But again Bryn, what a well written review. Here's another movie I plan to get and watch. Gary Oldman is one of my top fav actors so I can't believe I missed this. Too many movies too little time. Do you review movies that you personally pick or recommendations from others?

Comment by Bryn

September 8th 2010 03:57

Horrorphile

JMD, Nil by Mouth was one of those under the radar movies that wasn't widely distributed, is not easy to find on DVD, polarised audiences (those who couldn't stomach the grimness and violence), but received much critical acclaim for its unflinching honesty and realism.
Generally I review movies from my own extensive collection, the rest are a selection from the domestic release titles sent to me, media screenings, and titles I randomly pick off the video store shelves. Plus the odd one here and there that someone has recommended that I had heard of or hadn't paid much attention to.

Comment by David O'Connell

September 8th 2010 06:44

Screen Fanatic

Definitely one of the most intimidating, frightening characters ever committed to celluloid Bryn. Gut-wrenching stuff. I've been reluctant to re-visit this but if you've got the guts to wade through this, Naked, and The War Zone perhaps? all in one week then I need to re-evaluate my definition of how much stomach I think I have.

Comment by Bryn

September 8th 2010 07:50

Horrorphile

Haha ... I suspected you'd guess the third in my series David, good work.

Comment by ShaunK

September 8th 2010 11:54

Screen Adventure

I suspected this and the War Zone might be next also. I love this film Bryn, good work. It was my favorite film for a while.

My god - doing the War Zone tomorrow - you've got your work cut out for you, The War Zone is perhaps the most devastating of all masterpieces. Nil By Mouth and War Zone instantly make Winstone rank as one of the greatest actors who ever lived.

I take my hat off to you Bryn. You're boldly covering three films that are dear to me and I can not for the life of me figure out why I havnt reviewed them yet - I've got time though.

BRAVO

P.S. I love Eric Claptons work in this film and the soundtrack is great too

Comment by Deni

September 8th 2010 13:06

Abstract Magick
Cinema Herald

Ohhh, I've heard of this one but have not yet seen it. I have to get my hands on a copy. But I have read "somewhere" that Oldman did add personal touches to the movie that would lead one to believe it's somewhat autobiographical. I think he said something about the "chair" in the movie was the kind of chair his dad sat in and I think his mother sings the ending song, "Can't help lovin' that man".

Hmmm.

Comment by Bryn

September 9th 2010 02:27

Horrorphile

Shaun ... My English Hell is now complete. And I am suitably wrung out.

Deni, yes, seems Oldman and Roth (The War Zone) both purged some demons.

Comment by JohnDoe

September 10th 2010 17:28

Film & TV on DVD

Another great review.

Nil By Mouth takes dramatic performance to the most personal levels.

You can almost see demons being exorcised in every frame.