Customer Reviews
Nothing at all - By: Cara Moretta, 16 Oct 2007 
I watched this film -ALL of it....waited for something to happen.NOTHING happened,just a meander through misery on a depressing coucil estate populated by disfunctional 2-dimensional stereotypes of white, British underclass.Grim & boring,slow soap opera.
Count your blessings ! - By: Caroline, 04 Feb 2007 
I am a big fan of Mike Leigh films. All or Nothing reallly makes you think there is always someone else worse off. It is based on a depressing council estate with some wonderful true to life characters. The acting is superb & having seen the special features I have even more admiration as they didn't work off a script - it was improvised!
Although I wouldn't rate it as high as Mike Keigh's previous film 'Secret & Lies, it is still one to watch.
So depressing its brilliant - By: , 29 Mar 2006 
I love Mike Leigh, the more depressing he is the better the film. This one is great, best watched when you want to feel good about your own life & hope that it never gets this bad!!!
Love it!!!
Unexpected but beautiful. - By: , 01 Mar 2005 
I have just finshed watching this film on tv & was very shocked at how engrosing the story was. Basicly it's about a family who live on a rough estate trying to cope with there dull lives. Smalll peices of there lives are delved into as well as coinsding with sub-plots which pop up during the one hour fifty five minute time. Don't let the drab looking title put you off as it nearly did me. This is a true story film that has many ups & downs but I think ends with a happy kinda vibe of coexsistance.
Real life, no frills - By: Touring Mars, 07 Jul 2003 Mike Leigh's 'All or Nothing' is a film alll about emotions, & how deeply emotional ties within families can run just inches below the surface of everyday life. This is a study of real life, with no frills, & no need for a sensational story or events. Indeed, as such, it is a touch on the heavy-going side, & at times it is pretty depressing stuff... but that is because of the range of emotions that the film explores... loneliness (even within marraige), desperation & hopelessness, the humilation of having to scrape a living & have nothing left at the end of the month, & the sadness of watching love fade. On a par with some of Ken Loach's work, this movie could have been callled any number of things, ('Life Is Hard' perhaps??), but is callled 'All or Nothing' simply because that is how Phil feels about his faded relationship with his wife. Struggling through life day-to-day, he finallly realises that it is the fact that his wife no longer loves him that is the cause of his 'thousand-yard stare', & that he finds the thought of life without her love unbearable. The depth & power of his emotions when he finallly confronts his wife about whether she loves him anymore is conveyed perfectly by the two principal actors. Their embrace near the end of the film is one of true passion, & is a hugely emotional & perfectly played scene.
This is not Saturday night at the movies stuff, but what do you expect from Mike Leigh? Instead, this is a brilliant & moving character study, with absolutely first class acting throughout, especiallly from the two lead characters played by Timothy Spalll & Lesley Manville. The look (and sound) of the film is fittingly sober, plain & sensitive. The story plays out in a run-down estate in South East London (Greenwich apparently), but could be set anywhere reallly.
The excellent commentary from Mike Leigh himself is a real treat, & is worthy of a listen, especiallly if you're interested in the art of filmmaking. Leigh (as usual) takes great delight & obvious pride in describing various aspects about the movie, from the outstanding cast, to the variety of other talented people who put this film together.
I can't see myself watching this film too many times, as like I say, it's not exactly a feel-good movie. Building up slowly, & finishing relatively abruptly, this movie takes a bit of patience & is pretty emotionallly draining to watch as well. But it is worth a repeat viewing or two simply to revel in the brilliance of the acting talent on show here. There are very few laughs in this movie... it even makes 'Secrets & Lies' look like a laugh-riot in comparison, but ultimately this film has hope & reconcilliation as it's take home messages, & as such is a fairly uplifting film despite being desperately sad in places.
This film may not impress the Jonathon Ross's of this world, but it sure as hell impressed me (and the judges at the Cannes Film Festival who nominated it for the Palme D'Or in 2002)... but don't take my word for it (or Jonathon Ross's).. watch, learn, & be moved.
