Nil by Mouth

Nil by Mouth is acclaimed actor Gary Oldman’s debut as writer/director and is set in deepest, darkest, scariest South London. The film follows a single family and various friends as they struggle with drugs, alcohol, poverty and violence. Never an easy watch, Nil by Mouth features a grounded and gritty script and some accomplished directing and won numerous awards on its release in 1997.

Raymond (Ray Winstone) is a wheeler-dealer type who gets by with various scams and small time crimes. His wife Valerie (Kathy Burke) is pregnant with their second child and her brother Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles) scrounges off the pair and his mother Janet (Laila Morse) to feed his heroin habit. During the two hour, ten minute run time the various family members are attacked, beaten and arrested in what is a thoroughly depressing tale of abuse; both the abuse of substances and of each other.

About three minutes into Nil by Mouth my girlfriend, who was only half watching, turned to me and said “This is a naughty film, isn’t it?” That is putting it incredibly mildly. According to IMDb the film holds the record for the most uses of the word “cunt” which is uttered 82 times in total, mostly by Ray Winstone. The language itself is terrifying but is nothing compared with the violence. In the film’s most shocking scene a pregnant woman is beaten senseless by her husband. It makes for excruciating viewing and isn’t easy to watch. The film brings to the screen a side of London which is never seen by tourists or indeed the vast majority of its eight million residents but it remains recognisable due to its recognisable setting and naturalistic acting.

It is difficult to like Nil by Mouth as although it is a well made film, its characters are mostly despicable and deeply unlikeable. I didn’t even really like the beaten, pregnant woman that much! Ray Winstone plays one of the all time villains in a drunk and violent (to borrow from the film’s vernacular) cunt. He is totally detestable and has no redeeming features whatsoever. Drug addict Billy (Creed-Miles) is little better and even his mother gives him the money to buy drugs and lets him shoot up in her van. The whole piece is deeply, deeply depressing. I had a particular problem with Ray Wistone’s character as he reminded me of someone I once worked with in both the way he spoke, his stature and language and it bought back some nasty memories.

Despite the deeply flawed characters, the acting is very good. The whole film feels very natural which is in large part thanks to the great script. Winstone is excellent and Charlie Creed-Miles is good too. Laila Morse is well cast and hard nosed but the pick of the litter is Kathy Burke. I have seen little of her work besides what she has done with Harry Enfield (“I wana braaaan baby”) but she is extraordinary here. To my surprise I read that she actually won the Best Actress Award at the Cannes film festival but to be fair it is well deserved. Gary Oldman has obviously picked up a thing or two during his long and fruitful career and directs like a veteran. His script won him a BAFTA and the film won several major awards in addition to those already mentioned. The soundtrack is by Eric Clapton which seems like a coup but to be honest, as good as it sounds, it sometimes doesn't fit with the visuals and my girlfriend said she kept expecting sex scenes when she heard it. Sometimes though it does work well.

Nil by Mouth paints a grim and unflinchingly realistic portrayal of South London and has made me never want to go back. It is difficult to watch, violent and terrifyingly realistic but very well put together. I can’t say I enjoyed it but to be honest I don’t think I was meant to. I hated the characters, I hated where they lived and I hated who they were but the film is an astonishing debut from a talented film maker. 

6/10

GFR 5/10  

Titbits

• Laila Morse is Gary Oldman's real sister and will be recognisable to English viewers as EastEnders Mo. 
• 'Fuck' is said 522 times which works out at 4.25 times per minute.
• Oldman put $1.4 million of his own money into financing the movie.