- 4 months ago
Here’s my review of the Nil By Mouth.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00hey guys it's me Beau back once again with another cult movie review I hope
00:19everyone is doing good in today's video I'm gonna be reviewing the 1997 British
00:27drama nil by mouth this was a tragic and bleak story that didn't shy away from
00:38showcasing the dangerous consequences of drinking drugs before we get into it
00:45guys if you haven't already please do consider subscribing to the channel if
00:49you like the videos that I do so nil by mouth from 1997 start a host of British
00:59talent including Ray Winston Kathy Burke and Charlie Creed miles interestingly
01:06the film was written and directed by the actor Gary Oldman who of course is more
01:14recognized in front of the camera and to this day Oldman has yet to write or
01:22direct another movie so yeah this is a pretty interesting entry in his
01:29filmography I was first introduced to this movie many years ago in the early
01:352000s I distinctively remember walking into the living room one day and seeing the
01:43movie playing on the TV my dad was watching it and yeah it was like one of
01:49the scenes where Roy Winston's character goes like completely berserk he's like
01:53you know swearing going crazy and yeah as a young kid I was kind of like what the
01:58hell is this yeah I kind of couldn't take my eyes off it yeah I was pretty young at
02:04the time to really grasp what was going on but yeah I ended up watching the movie a
02:13few years later so the story followed the character Raymond played by the actor Ray
02:20Winston he was a nasty middle-aged man living with his dysfunctional family in a
02:29flat in South East London actress Kathy Burke played his wife Valerie a broken-down
02:38woman who kind of always put up with her husband's abuse we quickly learned that
02:48Raymond and his wife had this very volatile relationship to say the least
02:58I mean Ray basically treated her like dirt and yeah Valerie put up with that for the sake
03:09of the family what didn't help matters was the fact that the family were basically broke
03:16financially you know there was no money and there was another baby on the way so as the film
03:26progressed we saw Ray kind of becoming more and more unhinged and basically his relationship
03:37between him and his wife became so strained with Raymond's accusing his wife Valerie of cheating on
03:44him and of course this wasn't the case Valerie loved her husband she was loyal to him and as I said
03:54Raymond was not thinking straight he was drinking heavily using drugs and being totally chaotic I mean it's safe
04:04to say that his own self-indulgent behavior became a complete burden not just on himself but his loved
04:13ones around him this all led to what I could describe best as a violent crescendo with Raymond physically
04:25beating up his pregnant wife severely damaging her face and ending up putting her in hospital
04:34separately to all of the chaotic domestic violence going on between Raymond and Valerie we also saw the trial and
04:44tribulations of Valerie's brother Billy played by Charlie Creed Miles Billy was this well he was a junkie basically he was a heroin addict
04:57heroin addict actively using and you know trying to scrape up money here and there doing odd jobs for Raymond
05:07yeah pretty much just existing not living with Billy having such a serious heroin addiction he was unreliable and
05:19and just could not be trusted by anyone there's a crazy moment in the movie where we saw Billy end up using Raymond's stash of drugs
05:33then the next morning Raymond found out that his drugs had been used by Billy and just went berserk we then saw Ray take Billy's face and
05:46literally bite into his nose you know blood was everywhere you know pretty shocking stuff I mean we had seen some of Raymond's
05:58violent side at the beginning of the film but he took the violence to a whole new level and to think this was you know his
06:06nephew you know a fellow you know family member so yeah crazy scene um and I must say just first and foremost he was a
06:15very British movie to the point where I think it could potentially put some viewers off that may not necessarily be familiar with the way life is presented in the movie now I'm from London as you may have guessed from my accent and I can say first hand that Gary Oldman the
06:44Gary Oldman the director of this movie delivered a very accurate depiction of inner city London life not only did Oldman showcase the seedy underbelly of London but he also should be praised for his brilliant writing skills the swearing and the slang it was all authentically delivered by the actors
07:12Now I can't say I'm a huge fan of the actor Ray Winston he starred in many films over the years and has made a name for himself in the business but I must say that most of the films that he's in I would say he's kind of passable but credit where credit's due
07:34In this movie in this movie Neil by mouth he took his acting to a whole new level and yeah I was extremely impressed the sheer intensity that the character showed was pretty frightening at times and watching him on screen you got a sense that Raymond was a real nasty scumbag
08:03I mean he was unhinged I mean he was unhinged and I don't know only kind of seemed to be happy when he was kind of with his mates heavily drinking or doing drugs
08:10Ray's later revelation about his childhood trauma did give us the audience some insight into the tortured soul that made Raymond who he was
08:17Yeah I can't stress enough that Ray Winston deserves high praise for his performance in this movie
08:27You know for a long time I always thought that the 1979 movie Scum was perhaps Ray Winston's best performance but um...
08:34Yeah just seeing the movie again and reviewing it and reviewing it and then reviewing it was the best performance of Ray Winston's best performance but um...
08:42always thought that the 1979 movie Scum was perhaps Ray Winston's best performance. But
08:53yeah, just seeing a movie again and then reviewing it, doing some background research and kind
08:59of really getting into the psyche of the character. I mean, it's brilliant. Brilliant
09:06role, brilliant performance. You know, while I've not liked many of the films that Ray
09:12Winston's been in over the years, I think this kind of proves that when Ray Winston is
09:17given good material, he can deliver. The English actress Kathy Burke, who played Valerie in
09:25the movie, was also brilliant in her role. Throughout the film, the character had to endure
09:32her husband's monstrous behaviour and you just kind of felt really sorry for her. Yeah, she
09:40was trying to keep her family together. She didn't need this kind of abuse. I mean, as
09:45I said, life was hard enough with no money, a baby on the way. She didn't deserve that.
09:54And I was glad to see the character later on stand up to her husband. Just at the very beginning,
10:02you're wanting the character to just, you know, leave her husband, you know, walk away, call
10:09the police, report him, do something rather than just, you know, take it. But yeah, a depressingly
10:16authentic performance from Kathy Burke. Someone who is more kind of known for her TV work in
10:24Britain. But yeah, great to see her. Actress Layla Morse, who played Janet in the movie, was wonderful
10:35as the helpless older sister. Not only was she trying to support Valerie, she was also trying
10:44to cope with her junkie, heroin addicted son, Billy. You know, I felt for the character seeing
10:52her get wrapped up in all this family drama. Yeah, I mean, that just must be a terrible situation
11:00for anyone to be in, to see a sister be going through, you know, this domestic abuse and then
11:06you've got your son kind of stealing money from you and all this kind of stuff. Yeah, just
11:13complete chaos. Also, I want to give a shout out to actor Charlie Creek Miles, who played
11:21Billy, the junkie heroin addict. I would best describe the character as a lost puppy dog caught
11:29up in the degenerate drug world of London. He was this lost kid who just continually got
11:38into deeper and deeper trouble. He came off more as a danger to himself than to others.
11:46Now, I remember seeing Charlie Creek Miles many years ago as a kid, when I first watched
11:54the Luc Besson fantasy film, The Fifth Element. I love that film. I have a special place in
12:01my heart for The Fifth Element. And yeah, just seeing Neil by Mouth many years later, I was
12:08like, oh my God, that's the same guy. So yeah, clearly the actor is very versatile. And it's
12:16a shame that he never went on to bigger and better films. I mean, he definitely had the
12:23talent for sure. Now, I have to take a moment to mention the late director Alan Clarke. For
12:31those who don't know, Alan Clarke was a British director famous for films like Made in Britain
12:40and The Firm. I'm a big fan of Alan Clarke. I've already reviewed some of his films on this
12:46channel. And yeah, very, very underrated talent. Now, I bring up Alan Clarke because it was clear
12:57to me he was a major inspiration for this project. Having seen the majority of Alan Clarke's work
13:07and then having watched Neil by Mouth, I thought the dark, raw energy that is so prominent in
13:17Alan Clarke's movies was very present in this movie. And I guess that really shouldn't be
13:24too surprising. As the director of Neil by Mouth, Gary Oldman, you know, he had a huge amount of
13:32respect for Alan Clarke. The two worked closely together on the 1989 hooligan drama, The Firm,
13:41where Oldman gave one of the best performances in his entire career. So when it came to directing
13:49Neil by Mouth, Gary Oldman was clearly inspired by Alan Clarke's work. Oldman used the same techniques
13:59that Alan Clarke used in his films, such as the use of the 16mm camera, which made everything more
14:08grainy and documentary-like, plus also the handheld filming style. I mean, minus a few details here and
14:18there, Neil by Mouth could have easily have been directed by Alan Clarke. I mean, if you're a fan of
14:25Alan Clarke's work, then this movie is a must-watch because it definitely carries over some similar
14:33themes and vibes. And so dislikes for Neil by Mouth 1997. My main dislike from the movie would have to be
14:45the soundtrack that was provided by the legendary musician Eric Clapton. Now, I'll just say, Eric Clapton,
14:54he's a legend, and I'm a fan of his work. His contribution to the film's soundtrack was well done.
15:04The score had this kind of rock, bluesy, downbeat vibe, which kind of suited the bleakness to the film.
15:12And, you know, I give credit to Clapton for taking on such a challenging role in producing music
15:21for such an unconventional movie. I don't hate Clapton, love the guy, and I'm not really criticising
15:32the quality of his music. When it comes to the score, my specific dislike is that I just think
15:41Oldman should have maybe not used any score whatsoever. This film was so raw and so kind of
15:53unpolished that once you added this kind of soundtrack over it that was very, you know, of high quality,
16:02obviously from, you know, a top musician like Eric Clapton, I think the score kind of, I don't know,
16:08took away some of the weight and depth. I don't know, I just think if Oldman had refrained from
16:15using an actual score, the movie would have been better off for it. For me, it was almost like the
16:24soundtrack almost softened the film's overall aesthetic, and maybe that was done purposely to
16:33appeal to appeal to a much wider audience. Didn't necessarily hurt the movie, but
16:40the drama was so kind of powerful, you know, it was strong enough. It didn't need any kind of score
16:49to help assist with the imagery that was on screen. And so, ratings for Neil by Mouth, 19 at 97.
16:59I'm going to be rating this movie a solid 6.5 out of 10. Neil by Mouth is this hyper-realistic movie
17:10that, yeah, did not shy away from exploring the just sad and tragic lives of this broken family
17:20from South East London. You know, Gary Oldman did an absolutely fantastic job in the director's chair.
17:27Everything about this film demonstrated his skills as a filmmaker, staying true to the gritty subject
17:38matter. Oldman was able to capture the tragedy and drama of human life without resorting to any
17:50cheap thrills or gimmicks that we see in Hollywood movies. And with the dialogue being so naturally
18:00spontaneous, it made everything feel way more believable. The problem I think this movie has
18:09is, is that because audiences have become so used to the cinematic wonderment that Hollywood produces,
18:18a movie like Neil by Mouth, with its in-your-face style, would likely put some viewers off. It's just a very gritty film. And, uh,
18:32you know, a film that I think you would, uh, rush back to rewatch anytime soon. You know, I recommend this movie,
18:43Neil by Mouth. But, uh, I think people should be aware that it is somewhat slow-paced and it's very heavy on the bad language.
18:57Neil by Mouth.
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