There are some films that are so real, so fantastically real, that you just have to love them. It`s an amazing thing that actor Gary Oldman`s first film as writer/director, Nil By Mouth, is one of those films. It`s so honest it seems like Oldman`s revealing the story of his life, which he isn`t.
It`s set in South London where Oldman grew up and it`s about a family -- a family in which the men and the women seem to live two different sorts of lives. Ray -- Ray Winstone -- is a big boozer, a petty crim, a mate. He`s charismatic in his own rather scary way. He`s married to Valerie -- Kathy Burke, and she loves him and is nervous of him at the same time. Valerie`s mother Janet -- Laila Morse -- is a tough old nut, she`s seen it all before. Valerie`s brother Billy -- Charlie Creed-Miles -- has a chronic heroin problem. This puts him offside with Ray in a major way when he steals to buy and the repercussions affect everyone.
We must warn you now that Nil By Mouth is R Rated for coarse language but some scenes have been censored for TV by the distributor. Gary Oldman has pitched his film at a social realism that is so up-close it`s claustrophobic. It`s a tough journey, not without its mordant humour. What makes it a superb film experience are his almost documentary- like approach and the performances. Kathy Burke won best actress in Cannes for Nil By Mouth. At the time I thought Ray Winstone was short-changed - and I still do. His sweaty, ugly mug is a ferocious thing to confront. And confront it we do. But Oldman doesn`t judge these people, he doesn`t sentimentalise, you feel he actually knows and understands them, and even has affection for them.
Despite the documentary feel, Nil by Mouth is not a film which makes you think you`re looking at people from a distance. You`re right in there because despite its specific and rather desolate location there are truths for all of us in this most admirable first film.
