Life Is Sweet (1991)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh (writer)

Release Date:

December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop...

Plot Keywords:

Twin | Lunch Wagon | Restaurant | Father Daughter Relationship | Secret Lover

Awards:

6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Alison Steadman	...	Wendy
Jim Broadbent	...	Andy
Claire Skinner	...	Natalie
Jane Horrocks	...	Nicola
Stephen Rea	...	Patsy
Timothy Spall	...	Aubrey, Regret Rien Owner
David Thewlis	...	Nicola's Lover
Moya Brady	...	Paula, Aubrey's Cook
David Neilson	...	Steve the Plumber
Harriet Thorpe	...	Bunnikins' Customer
Paul Trussel	...	Chef where Andy Works
Jack Thorpe-Baker	...	Nigel

MPAA:

Rated R for language and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

British Screen Productions

Quotes:

Aubrey, Regret Rien Owner: Classic nose.

Movie Connections:

References Magical Mystery Tour (1967) (TV)

A sublime slice of ordinary life from Mike Leigh

A sublime slice of ordinary life from Mike Leigh. He takes us through 5 days in the life of a London family: Jim Broadbent, Alison Steadman and their twin daughters Claire Skinner and Jane Horrox. What follows is by turns touching, hilarious and unsettling. Leigh is often compared to Ken Loach, but Loach deals with unspeakably grim and often melodramatic scenarios. The far more impressive gift of Leigh is to make tales from the apparently unremarkable. So many touches run true here; Steadman doing a little dance to herself alone in the kitchen, Broadbent and Stephen Rea drunkenly reciting the Spurs Double side, Skinner describing an arthritic old woman met on her plumbing round. And the tragedy of the film is also unveiled naturally and feels horribly believable.

The performances are also astonishing. Broadbent and Steadman, both distinctive actors, can descend into parody but here are just hugely enjoyable. Skinner is nicely deadpan but the star is Horrox, playing a twitching wreck of a girl who mainly communicates in one word insults. Little wonder she's been given so many chances to prove her talents subsequently, just a shame she's never taken them. The only false note is Tim Spall as a manic chef. Perhaps that's because he's simply put in for comic value (he was far better in Leigh's 'Secrets and Lies'), his character given none of the depth which lights up the rest of the film.