All or Nothing 2002

Mike Leigh returns to Secrets and Lies terrain, investing family life in a South London housing estate with his signature blend of harsh reality, pungent humour and emotional resilience. In a career-defining role, Leigh regular Timothy Spall plays Phil, a London minicab driver more responsive to provocative passengers than to his severely disillusioned wife and their loutish, disturbingly overweight son. Leigh locates this unhappy family firmly within the context of workmates and neighbours, creating a welcome relief from their emotional blockage in the super-sane woman next door, Maureen, played by Ruth Sheen with a sardonic quip for every occasion – and a quiet flair for karaoke. The dramatic impetus is towards reconciliation; as the focus intensifies on a marriage in serious need of refreshment, Spall and actress Lesley Manville prove devastatingly effective. “A beautiful balancing act… truthful, perceptive and finally very .” — Geoff Andrew, Time Out 

“Vintage Leigh; blooming from the banal into a stuff-of-life fable that’s wise, witty and profound.” — Xan Brooks, The Guardian