- Nil by Mouth (film)
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Nil by Mouth 
Theatrical release posterDirected by Gary Oldman Produced by Gary Oldman
Douglas Urbanski
Luc Besson
Hilary DwyerWritten by Gary Oldman Starring Ray Winstone
Kathy Burke
Charlie Creed-MilesMusic by Eric Clapton Cinematography Ron Fortunato Editing by Brad Fuller Studio Europa Corp. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics Release date(s) 8 May 1997 (Cannes)
10 October 1997 (United Kingdom)
5 November 1997 (France)Running time 128 minutes Country France
United KingdomLanguage English Budget $9 million Box office $266,130 Nil by Mouth is a 1997 British 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 eight awards and being nominated for a further eight.
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 meaning that a patient must not take food or water.
Contents
Plot
Ray and his pregnant partner Valerie are at the local pub. Ray leaves Valerie and her mum Janet to sit and drink with his friends. Ray sits with his best friend Mark, who is telling a crude story, and together they make the younger Bill, Ray's brother-in-law (Valerie's brother), uncomfortable and rope him into a deal coming up.
At Ray and Valerie's, Mark and Ray carry on, telling crude stories to Billy and in front of Janet, Valerie, and Ray and Valerie's young daughter Michelle. Mark and Ray take some drugs in the bathroom and take Bill with them for a night out, going to a casino and strip club. Ray buys a whole load more of drugs on the cheap.
Back at the flat Bill steals Ray’s drugs and is then savagely assaulted by Ray, who bites his nose and throws him out of his and Valerie’s flat for stealing. Bill goes to his mum and grandma's. Janet pays for Bill to score some heroin, as she can't bear to watch his come downs.
Finally Janet refuses Bill anymore money, and he breaks into Ray's flat again, stealing things to sell. Ray is furious, especially as one of the pictures Bill took was his mother's. Janet and Valerie though see Bill when he turns up at the flat and keep him out of Ray's way; Bill gives Janet some money to repay.
Ray finds Valerie playing pool with another man at the pub while she is out with Janet and some friends, including the Scottish Angus. Ray orders her home, where she goes to bed and he sits up drinking. Later he wakes her up and accusing her of having an affair, beats her savagely.
The next day, Janet comes round and sees Valerie's appalling injuries, but she tells her mum that she was run over. Valerie suddenly is hit by pain on the stairs and has a miscarriage. At the hospital Valerie admits all to Janet.
Ray and Mark go to Janet's place to try to pick up Michelle. When Janet refuses, Ray becomes violent, throwing a stone through her window. Ray and Mark then follow Angus's car, who is heading to the hospital to collect Valerie. As Ray attempts to get to Valerie, Angus jumps in and knocks Ray down.
Later Ray rings up Valerie at Angus’ house and tries but is unable to speak to her. He pulls the cord out of the wall and gets drunk; he then gets on the disconnected phone, imagining talking to his wife before completely destroying the flat.
Ray hides out at Mark’s house, explaining that he has never stood a chance, as his father was also a violent drunk who never spoke kindly to him, never showed any love, and was free with open fists towards Ray and his mother.
Bill and his druggie friend Danny are being chased by a man with a knife, and they become trapped in the Launderette. Bill is arrested and is removing drugs from his anus, which he proceeds to freebase.
Ray turns up and talks to Valerie, who rejects him, but it is obvious they still love each other.
Everyone is together at Valerie and Ray's flat, which Ray has repaired, talking about Bill, who has been knifed in prison. The family is reconciled as they prepare to visit Billy in jail.
Cast
- Ray Winstone as Ray
- Kathy Burke as Valerie
- Charlie Creed-Miles as Billy
- Laila Morse as Janet
- Edna Doré as Kath
- Chrissie Cotterill as Paula
- Jon Morrison as Angus
- Jamie Foreman as Mark
- Steve Sweeney as Danny
Release
This film employs around 428 uses of the word "fuck".[1] This results in about 3.75 occurrences per minute.
In 2001, Mind The Gap Theatre performed a stage adaptation in New York City as part of the British Airways sponsored UKwithNYC.
Oldman's screenplay was published as Nils by Mouth: screenplay by Gary Oldman; introduction by Douglas Urbanski. London: ScreenPress Books, 1997.
A photo-diary of the film's production containing photos by Jack English was published in 1998 by ScreenPress Books.
Reception
Reviews for Nil by Mouth were mixed but tended towards the positive, with a 65% "fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.[2] Roger Ebert awarded the film 3.5/4 stars, writing: "The film's portrait of street life in South London is unflinching and observant."[3]
Awards and nominations
- 1997 Cannes Film Festival:
- Winner: Best Actress (Kathy Burke)[4]
- Nominee: Palme d'Or (Golden Palm)[4]
- 1997 Edinburgh International Film Festival:
- Winner: Channel 4 Director's Award (Gary Oldman)
- 1997 European Film Awards:
- Nominee: Best Cinematographer (Ray Fortunato)
- 1997 BAFTA Awards:
- Winner: Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film (Luc Besson, Douglas Urbanski)
- Winner: BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay (Gary Oldman)
- Nominee: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (Ray Winstone)
- Nominee: Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role (Kathy Burke)
- 1998 British Independent Film Awards:
- Winner: Best Performance by a British Actor in an Independent Film (Ray Winstone)
- Winner: Best Performance by a British Actress in an Independent Film (Kathy Burke)
- Winner: Most Promising Newcomer in any Category (Laila Morse)
- Nominee: Best British Director of an Independent Film (Gary Oldman)
- Nominee: Best British Independent Film
- Nominee: Best Original Screenplay by a British Writer of a Produced Independent Film (Gary Oldman)
- 1998 Empire Awards:
- Winner: Best Debut (Gary Oldman)
- 1997 Royal Variety Club of Great Britain
- Winner: Best Film Actress (Kathy Burke)[5]
- 1997: Golden Frog Award:
- Nominee: Cinematography (Ron Fortunato)
References
- ^ Swear word frequency http://www.screenit.com/movies/1998/nil_by_mouth.html
- ^ Nil By Mouth at Rotten Tomatoes
- ^ Roger Ebert review
- ^ a b "Festival de Cannes: Nil by Mouth". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4790/year/1997.html. Retrieved 2009-09-23.
- ^ Kathy Burke winner of Royal Variety Club Great Britain: Best Film Actress http://www.kathyburke.co.uk/pages/awards.html
External links
- Nil by Mouth at the Internet Movie Database
- Nil by Mouth at AllRovi
- Nil by Mouth at Box Office Mojo
- Nil by Mouth at Rotten Tomatoes
- screenonline:Nil By Mouth
- Gary Oldman Nil By Mouth interview in TimeOut magazine
- Review by Eye for Film, of Nil by Mouth
Categories:- 1997 films
- French films
- British films
- English-language films
- 1990s drama films
- British drama films
- Directorial debut films
- Films directed by Gary Oldman
- Films set in London
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