Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4990 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-04-19
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 123 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Gary Oldman took a break from acting to write and direct this unflinching family drama out of the kitchen-sink British school. Oldman doesn't appear in the film, instead handing the heavy lifting to the remarkable Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast, Cold Mountain) and Kathy Burke, who won a prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her work. The scummy drug trade of lower-class London is Oldman's turf, but he puts special focus on the miserable cycles of violence that fuel a family's struggle within this world. The results are not always easy to watch, but they are devastating (and the final sequence is chilling). Oldman may be guilty of indulging his actors a bit, but it's forgivable, given the big, roaring performances. --Robert Horton

Special Features

• Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 16:9 Anamorphic
  
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
  
• Language: English
  
• Subtitles: English for the hearing impaired
  
• Running Time: 2 hours and 3 minutes approx.
  
• Region Code: 2

Synopsis
Gary Oldman's directorial debut offers a gritty, profane look inside the mean streets of South London, where drug addiction, poverty and abuse hold sway. This is a semi-autobiographical picture of paternal anger and alcohol abuse from father Ray (a menacing and remarkable Ray Winstone), causing bouts of often unbearable tension and shocking domestic violence against his family. The son (Creed-Miles) is battling heroin while his weary resigned wife Valerie (Burke, in an incredible performance) tries to keep out of his way. A superb and cautionary tale of the downward spiral of self-destruction and tested loyalties, shot through with true humour. With a score by Eric Clapton and winner of the Best Actress award for Kathy Burke at the Cannes Film Festival.

Customer Reviews

you wont look away
gary oldman wrote and directed this and its based on his own experiences of growing up in london and if this film is an exact mirror image of his life then its a wonder that oldman is even alive as this is a gritty and demented look at life,family and poverty.
ray winstone stars as a man named raymond who is in a relationship with kathy burke and he treats her like a dog both verbally and physically,they also have a circle of friends who all are victims of the enviroment they live in and there are few here to relate too,but thats the beauty,the film holds back nothing,offers little hope and yet is interesting and is hard to look away even during the most bleak moments,brilliant acting along with a razor sharp script containing more swear words than you would hear in a sailors convention this is excellent film making.

Utterly Depressing and Violent Drama
Nil By Mouth is Britains answer to Once Were Warriors. In this film, the brilliant Ray Winstone plays a violent drunk who subjects his wife (Cathy Burke) to some horrendous domestic abuse.

Set in a London Council Estate the film never lets the viewer get comfortable from start to finish. It is a raw, unflinching look at poverty in modern day Britain. It is truly upsetting and difficult to watch but it is also a bold film which everyone should take time to watch. Winstone and Burkes performances are magnificent.

Like This? Try: Once Were Warriors

Hard to watch, but worth the effort.
I was left stunned by the amazing acting within this film. It made me look at Ray Winstone in such a different light. He is now one of my favourite actors.

Heartbreaking in its reality this is not to be watched when you want something easy to watch. You can't help but be engaged to the point of anger and sympathy. This film is relentless.

The actors, especially Winstone and Burke, create such empathy that you can really feel for them. At his worst Winstone's character is repulse and mean. Amazingly, I still felt sorry for him at times. Winstone creates a man who is at odds with his present life and his past childhood. This is a man that understands that he is pulling his life apart, but that he can't help it.

This film has every range of emotion from pain and hatred and the emotions that make us stay with the people we love no matter what. Oldman's created a masterpiece that is undoubtedly owing as much to the cast. This is a hard film to watch but you will be rivited. You will also come through the otherside glade that you did.