All or Nothing

Almost as bleak as his masterpiece in despair, Naked (1993), Mike Leigh's All or Nothing is set over the course of a weekend in and around a tough London housing estate. The ever reliable Timothy Spall plays Phil Bassett, a gentle, decent cabbie whose relationship is disintegrating with his wife Penny (Manville). Their woes stem from Phil's disarming lack of ambition and his tendency to put his two unhappy kids, Rachel (Garland) and Rory (Corden) first. Things aren't much for their neighbours and when the Bassetts are beset by tragedy, it proves to be the final straw for the beleaguered family. Leigh's speciality is bleak family dramas, and with All or Nothing, he has fashioned his most satisfying yet. The material may be dark, but the director's faith in the redemptive and healing power of humanity gives All or Nothing an edge that has occasionally been missing from some of his other work. As you might expect, the performances are superb, with Spall delivering a particularly memorable performance as the downtrodden Phil