ADDED TO 'GREAT FAVORITES': Meantime (1983)

Directed by Mike Leigh

Making a topical film, one that reflects a very specific time, place, and issue(s), is an incredibly risky move. Under most circumstances, I believe that one of the many keys to a truly great film is the factor of timelessness. If an auteur wants their film to stand the test of time as a classic and be enjoyed by generation after generation, their film must know no time-specific scenario or circumstances – what may be relevant to one generation could be alienating and foreign to the next.

But there exists no objective guide on the rules of making a great film, so of course there are exceptions to my own personal rule of timelessness. If handled well enough, a topical film can transcend its content and continue on as a great film without losing touch of the circumstances it came from. Enter Mike Leigh and his sophomore feature, Meantime. Released on British television in 1983, it is a stark portrait of Thatcherism’s effects on the British populace. Topical, yes, but it has continued to stand the test of time as not only a terrific family drama, as well as one of Mike Leigh’s finest films in an already exceptional filmography – I’ve never seen a bad (or even mediocre) film by Leigh; some are just better than others.

Early in Meantime, there is a shot of a woman gazing out the window, as if longing for some unattainable ideal. She soon turns around to the monotony of her cloistered existence: as we very slowly pan right, we see that she is in a messy kitchen preparing a snack. In the background, slightly clouded by cigarette smoke, are her husband and two children lazily sitting in front of the television. In one of the most striking shots of Mike Leigh’s career, this brief shot masterfully establishes the atmosphere of Meantime, a world clustered and run-down with a slow-burn tension ready to combust any second.

We have also been introduced to our main characters, the Pollock family. Unemployment has reached at a distressing high by this point – according to the Guardian, 11.9% of the population was unemployed in 1984, a year after Meantime was released. The Pollock family is part of this percentage. Without jobs, they plod through their squalor, crammed in like sardines in a shoddy flat. Always in each other’s personal spaces, there’s never an interaction between the Pollocks without at least some sort of nagging.

With mum and dad always at each other, we rack focus on brothers Mark (Phil Daniels) and Colin (Tim Roth), both in their 20s. There may be a good heart within Mark (and I emphasize “maybe”), but he seems to be genetically committed to a rebellious and smartass attitude, never hesitating to talk back to his folks and blaring hardcore punk on the record player in the middle of the night. Additionally, he is always being rough on Colin. In spite of this, Colin is almost always by Mark’s side, probably because he is Colin’s one means of getting out of the flat.

Colin is an extremely awkward person, and rather slow – his uncle says he’s retarded, to which Colin’s aunt replies “he’s just never been given a chance”. It’s no surprise that Mark is always giving him crap, but perhaps this is just brotherly roughness wrapped up in Mark’s frustration. As for Colin’s parents, his father sits passively on the sidelines while his mother never hesitates to let Colin know just how much he’s irritating her (to the point of borderline abuse).

The only person that seems to be remotely interested in Colin’s welfare – even in the slightest – is Coxy (Gary Oldman), a reckless young skinhead who spends his days wandering about the city with no direction – his behavior is also curiously similar to Colin, albeit in a more extroverted fashion. As the teasing and verbal abuse continues, Colin slowly warms up more and more to Coxy, culminating in one of the most devastating endings I’ve ever seen – not because of some grandiose tragedy, but instead because a simple change in Colin’s appearance shows exactly what road he’s headed down.

Some of the best performances I’ve seen in movies tend to be from Mike Leigh’s films, from David Thewlis in Naked to Sally Hawkins and Eddie Marsan in Happy-Go-Lucky, and Meantime is no exception (though the characters don’t make as much of an impression nearly as much as those in Leigh’s later films). Most remarkable is Tim Roth (in his third acting role), who finds the perfect balance in portraying mental handicap – sympathetic without cheaply baiting for it. Phil Daniels, the terrific young man from Quadrophenia, flawlessly portrays somebody so frustrated that their only means of existing is being an obnoxious pain all day, every day. And then, of course, there’s Gary Oldman (in his second acting role). Though this is not one of his most impactful performance, he hits all the necessary notes just fine as the wily skinhead, also showing much promise of the talent he will later grace us with.

Though Meantime isn’t spectacular as far as its visuals go, Mike Leigh was wise in his location choices; rarely do we ever leave the confines of some enclosed space, whether it be a flat, a store, or a laundromat. Combined with deteriorating décor and always-present cigarette smoke. We can almost feel the confining walls as well smell the smells of this world. In turn, some of the characters’ frustration finds itself in the viewer – I didn’t realize just how texture-rich Meantime is until I started typing this sentence. When we do get some fresh air, all we are greeted to are the drab city walls, gray and unwelcoming in its towering oppression, sometimes being torn down. Lovely.

For a film that has so much to say against Thatcherism, how interesting is it that I’ve barely said a word about the topics at hand. This is the primary reason why I believe Meantime is a great film. Issues come and go throughout time, but people are always present, and people are always the ones that are most visibly impacted by said issues. By prioritizing the people over the topic, Mike Leigh has not only achieved the difficult task of making a film that is both timeless and for its time, but has also brought us one of his most riveting and masterful works.

Though I could not find a trailer for Meantime, I offer you instead an insightful excerpt from an interview with Mike Leigh discussing the film.