Aside from Naked, I've been left disappointed in Mike Leigh's films and all for the exact same reason – sub plots and sub characters that are more interesting than the main plot & characters but don't get developed and are left as loose ends.
This has been a reoccurring theme in the 3 Mike Leigh films I have watched recently (All or Nothing, Meantime and Life Is Sweet). In each case, there are characters and sub plots that come along and start to look interesting but just as they seem to be going somewhere, they are forgotten about as the main characters & storyline take over for about the last 20 minutes and everything else is just left unresolved. I have finished each of these films thinking "why??!"
What is even more perplexing is that the sub plots and sub characters are usually more interesting than the main plots & characters. But even if they weren't, it's not very good writing or film making to start a storyline and just leave it mid air. It doesn't make any sense and yet it seems to be a theme in his films.
Aside from that, I struggled to enjoy All or Nothing. James Cordon's character was great and interesting, but the remaining 3 family members were dull, weak, mopey and annoyingly subordinate. I found the reconciliation between the wife and husband at the end to be weak and unconvincing.
I wish there had been more time spent on the 2 trashy girls who live in the same block of flats. Both them and their families were a lot more interesting.
This has been a reoccurring theme in the 3 Mike Leigh films I have watched recently (All or Nothing, Meantime and Life Is Sweet). In each case, there are characters and sub plots that come along and start to look interesting but just as they seem to be going somewhere, they are forgotten about as the main characters & storyline take over for about the last 20 minutes and everything else is just left unresolved. I have finished each of these films thinking "why??!"
What is even more perplexing is that the sub plots and sub characters are usually more interesting than the main plots & characters. But even if they weren't, it's not very good writing or film making to start a storyline and just leave it mid air. It doesn't make any sense and yet it seems to be a theme in his films.
Aside from that, I struggled to enjoy All or Nothing. James Cordon's character was great and interesting, but the remaining 3 family members were dull, weak, mopey and annoyingly subordinate. I found the reconciliation between the wife and husband at the end to be weak and unconvincing.
I wish there had been more time spent on the 2 trashy girls who live in the same block of flats. Both them and their families were a lot more interesting.