Nil by Mouth (film)
| Nil by Mouth | |
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| Directed by | Gary Oldman |
| Produced by | Gary Oldman Douglas Urbanski Luc Besson |
| Written by | Gary Oldman |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Eric Clapton |
| Cinematography | Ron Fortunato |
| Edited by | Brad Fuller |
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Production
company |
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| Distributed by |
20th Century Fox (United Kingdom) ARP Sélection (France) |
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Release date
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Running time
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128 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom France |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $9 million |
| Box office | $266,130 |
Nil by Mouth is a 1997 British-French drama film portraying a family of characters living in South East London. It was Gary Oldman's debut as a writer and director; the film was produced by Douglas Urbanski and Luc Besson. It stars Ray Winstone as Raymond, the abusive husband of Valerie (Kathy Burke). The film was a critical success, winning numerous awards.
Time Out considered Nil by Mouth to be the 21st best British film.
In a working class London district lives Raymond, his wife Valerie, her brother Billy, Billy's mother Janet and their grandmother Kathy. Billy is a drug addict whom Raymond kicks out when he steals drugs from Ray himself. Billy hangs out with his heroin addict friends and they shoot up together. The family is dysfunctional, mostly due to Raymond's fiery-temper and violent outbursts.
The film depicts the environment Oldman witnessed growing up on a council estate in South East London. Oldman's sister Laila Morse plays Janet and his mother voices a song in the film. The title is a medical instruction (literally "nothing by mouth"), meaning that a patient must not take food or water. It is set to the soundtrack "Peculiar Groove" by Frances Ashman.
In 2001, Mind The Gap Theatre performed a stage adaptation in New York City as part of the British Airways sponsored UKwithNYC.
The screenplay, with introduction by Douglas Urbanski, was published in 1997 by ScreenPress Books.
A photo-diary of the film's production, containing photos by Jack English, was published in 1998 by ScreenPress Books.
Nil by Mouth received generally positive reviews, currently holding a 65% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.Roger Ebert awarded the film 3.5/4 stars, writing: "The film's portrait of street life in South London is unflinching and observant."
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Wikipedia