''All or Nothing'' is a 2002 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by

Mike Leigh Mike Leigh (born 20 February 1943) is an English film and theatre director, screenwriter and playwright. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and further at the Camberwell School of Art, the Central School of Art and Des ...

and starring

Timothy Spall Timothy Leonard Spall (born 27 February 1957) is an English actor and presenter. He became a household name in the UK after appearing as Barry Spencer Taylor in the 1983 ITV comedy-drama series '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet''. Spall performed in '' ...

and Lesley Manville. Like much of Leigh's work, the film is set in present-day

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and depicts three working-class families and their everyday lives.

Synopsis

The film begins with a day nearing its end. Rachel, the daughter in the first family, is shown working in a nursing home. Phil, her father, is seen driving people around in his

minicab Taxicabs are regulated throughout the United Kingdom, but the regulation of taxicabs in London is especially rigorous with regard to mechanical integrity and driver knowledge. An official report observed that: "Little however is known about ...

. Penny, Rachel's mother, is shown working as a cashier at a

Safeway Safeway is an American supermarket chain founded by Marion Barton Skaggs in April 1915 in American Falls, Idaho. The chain provides grocery items, food and general merchandise and features a variety of specialty departments, such as bakery, del ...

store alongside Maureen, the mother in the second family. When Penny leaves work, she cycles home to find her 18-year-old son Rory in a fight with a local boy for taking his football. Rory is a lazy, obese, ill-mannered teenager who neither goes to school nor has a job. Complications with his obesity arise when after an altercation with a gang of youths playing piggy in the middle, he runs out of breath, begins to hyperventilate and is hospitalized after suffering a heart attack. The second family consists of Maureen, another cashier at Safeway, and her daughter Donna, a waitress at a cafe. Donna becomes pregnant by her boyfriend Jason despite being on the pill, and this leads to a heated argument among the three characters. The third family consists of Ron, who also drives a minicab, his unemployed teenage daughter Samantha, and his wife Carol, an unemployed alcoholic. Samantha shows interest in both Jason and Craig, a taciturn young man who seems to stalk her.

Cast

as Phil * Lesley Manville as Penny *

James Corden James Kimberley Corden (born 22 August 1978) is an English television host, actor, comedian, and singer. In the United Kingdom, he is best known for co-writing and starring in the critically acclaimed BBC sitcom '' Gavin & Stacey''. In the ...

as Rory * Alison Garland as Rachel *

Ruth Sheen Ruth Sheen is an English actress. From the late 1980s, she has appeared in British television shows, films and plays. A participant in the films of Mike Leigh, she won the European Film Award for Best Actress for her performance as Shirley in Leigh ...

as Maureen *

Marion Bailey Marion Bailey (born 5 May 1951) is an English actress. She is best known for her work with her partner, filmmaker Mike Leigh, including the films '' Meantime'' (1983), ''All or Nothing'' (2002), ''Vera Drake'' (2004), ''Mr. Turner'' (2014), fo ...

as Carol *

Paul Jesson Paul Jesson is an English stage, television and film actor and an Associate Artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company. He has played leading roles at the National Theatre and the RSC and won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supp ...

as Ron *

Sam Kelly Roger Michael Kelly (19 December 1943 – 14 June 2014), known by the stage name Sam Kelly, was an English actor who appeared in film, television, radio and theatre. He is best known for his roles as Captain Hans Geering in Allo 'Allo ...

as Sid *

Kathryn Hunter Aikaterini Hadjipateras ( el, Αικατερίνη Χατζηπατέρας; born 9 April 1957), known professionally as Kathryn Hunter, is an American-born British actress and theatre director, known for her appearances as Arabella Figg in th ...

as Cécile *

Sally Hawkins Sally Cecilia Hawkins (born 27 April 1976) is an English actress who began her career on stage and then moved into film. She has received several awards including a Golden Globe Award and the Berlin International Film Festival's Silver Bear fo ...

as Samantha * Helen Coker as Donna *

Daniel Mays Daniel Mays (born 31 March 1978) is an English actor. Early life Born in Epping, Essex, the third of four boys, Mays was brought up in Buckhurst Hill, Essex, by his electrician father and bank cashier mother. He attended the Italia Conti Acad ...

as Jason * Ben Crompton as Craig *

Robert Wilfort Robert Kenneth Wilfort (born 2 June 1977) is a Welsh actor from Porthcawl, who has made many appearances on British television and film. He is best known for his role as Jason West in ''Gavin & Stacey'' His other television appearances have in ...

as Dr. Simon Griffith * Gary McDonald as Neville *

Dorothy Atkinson Dorothy Caroline Atkinson (born 1966) is an English actress and singer. She has appeared in several plays by playwright Alan Ayckbourn and in films by Mike Leigh, including ''Topsy-Turvy'', ''All or Nothing'', and ''Mr. Turner'', which premiere ...

as A Silent Passenger * Alan Williams as Drunk

Film locations

Dungeness Dungeness () is a headland on the coast of Kent, England, formed largely of a shingle beach in the form of a cuspate foreland. It shelters a large area of low-lying land, Romney Marsh. Dungeness spans Dungeness Nuclear Power Station, the hamlet ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

was used as a film location for the scene where Phil visits the coast to contemplate his problems.

Reception

It was well received by critics and audiences alike, receiving an 82% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 92 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The critical consensus states that "''All or Nothings depiction of the working-class can be depressingly bleak, but the performances are wonderfully true to life." It has a 72/100 average on Metacritic. The film holds an average B+ grade on

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Mana ...

Movies.

Awards

The film won the

London Film Critics Circle Award The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally. The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards did not convey the full context of th ...

for Best British Film of the Year, and Mike Leigh was nominated for Best Director at the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mo ...

. The film was nominated for the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

2002 Cannes Film Festival The 55th Cannes Film Festival started on 15 May and ran until 26 May 2002. The Palme d'Or went to the Polish-French-German-British co-produced film '' The Pianist'' directed by Roman Polanski. The festival opened with '' Hollywood Ending'', direct ...

References

External links

* *
''All or Nothing'' at BFI Screenonline
{{DEFAULTSORT:All Or Nothing (Film) 2002 films 2002 drama films Films about dysfunctional families Films directed by Mike Leigh Films set in London StudioCanal films United Artists films British drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films