Nil by Mouth (Gary Oldman)
*** / B
Intense, harrowing, scary, emotional. All these words apply to Gary Oldman's debut film, Nil by Mouth. However, overlong, tedious, plotless, and dragged-out apply as well. Now, I have nothing against plotless films (witness my love of the films of Kevin Smith) but scene after scene of absolutely nothing passing itself off as Something Important was just too much for me. I also have nothing against leisurely-paced films, but, Christ, this is amazing. No point that could have been established in two minutes was if it could be equally well established in 15. And, at a little over two hours, Nil by Mouth came dangerously close to wearing out its wlecome.
It's about one working-class South London family, lead by an abusive, alcoholic patriarch (Ray Winstone). His wife (Kathy Burke) has a young daughter and another child on the way. His brother-in-law is addicted to heroin, and he (Ray) refers to his mother-in-law (to her face) as a "stupid fucking cunt." None of these characters are given any nuances. Oldman (who also wrote the screenplay) just threw them onto the screen and let them be just exactly what they needed to be for whichever scene they were taking part in at the moment. The junky brother, in particular, is paper thin, and it seriously hurts the film, considering his share of time on-screen.
So I know what you're thinking right now: "If you hate this thing so much, why the fuck are you recommending it?" Well, Oldman, even if he's a mediocre writer, is a damn fine director. Several scenes struck me as simply superb (they are, in chronological order, the scene in which Ray beats the shit out of Valerie, the scene in which Ray has a breakdown and trashes his house, the scene in which Ray explains the film's cryptic title, and the scene in which Ray apologizes to Valerie for beating the everfucking shit out of her), but the whole movie is really well done in a directorial aspect.
After the film fades out but before the credits start to roll, an insert reads: "Dedicated to the memory of my father." Now, Oldman has gone on record saying that this film is semi-autobiographical, and it is possible that this means his father was a Ray-like bastard who beat him and his mother savagely on a daily basis. If this is the case, I truly feel for the man and respect him for having the courage to make this film. But again, if this is the case, is is not a tad frightening to dedicate the film lovingly to the man's memory? Even though Nil by Mouth tried somewhat to explain that Ray was simply a product of his environment, its stance was always clear: he was still a completely evil human-being. Dedicating the film to a man anything like him is kind of sad, don't you think?
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