Just like the magnificent "Secrets and Lies" from a few years ago, Mike Leigh's "All or Nothing" is about family members and their friends, and more directly their inner secrets and problems.  Many critics have described this film (as well as many of Leigh's other films) as way too bleak and gloomy.  But these critics in my opinion have missed the real underlying themes and feel of this movie.  One thought I had while watching this film was that it was reminded me so much of the Paul Schrader great film of a few years ago called "Affliction".  It wouldn't surprise me to see this film get a best film nomination at the next Oscar show.

      Right from the beginning when we see an overweight girl cleaning the floors of an old folks home to the sound of elegant orchestral music, we know right away that the people we are going to meet lead sad, sad lives.  This girl we first see is Alison who lives with her family which is made up of her father who is a taxi driver, her mother who works at a local grocery store, and her teen obese brother who spends most of his time yelling at his mother and watching TV.  They live in a depressed housing project in south London along with many of their friends and co-workers.  We soon realize that Phil, the father, has lost most of his interest for living, his work, and his family.  Alison seems to live day-by-day in a stupor, showing no emotion.  Rory, the brother, seems to be on the verge of some violent outburst.  Penny, the mother, appears on the surface to be the one ingredient holding the entire family together, but we find out that she has her own inner problems as well.  The entire family seems to be spiraling down into the worst of circumstances and eventually into oblivion.  Then unexpectedly, a serious, life threatening heart attack falls one of the family members and this slowly leads to some redemption and outbursts of long held secrets.

      This movie is a heart wrenching depiction of a family in dire straights, living daily with some level of emotional pain.  The friends we see them with are not much better off, such as the daughter of Penny's best friend who gets pregnant by her violent, lowlife boyfriend.  While the story is certainly a grim one, we slowly see that these unattractive and poor people actually have more complex lives than appear on the surface.  But even within this depressing situation, Leigh finds a way to inject humor as shown by one of the main characters who elects to try to shut out all the bad stuff around her by laughing and joking as if everything is ok.

      Without doubt, the best thing about the film is the acting.  Timothy Spall is magnificent playing the sad Phil who barely ever raises an eyebrow when conflict arises.  His sad, puppy-dog eyes tells us exactly what he is feeling and thinking, without him ever saying a word.  And all the other actors play their parts perfectly as well, being totally real while being very unlikable in many respects.  And while most of these characters have serious and deep problems with lots of emotional pain, we care what happens to them, even the totally obnoxious and mean Rory.

      This film is about characters set inside a depressed and sad situation.  But like all good stories which are grim, some sunshine eventually shines thru at the end. And the family members find out that the love they had from years before which has been hidden inside them for a long time, is still there somewhere.  Anybody who thinks that their own lives are sad and depressing should go see this film and they will find out that they are probably not nearly as bad off as they think.  My only complaint is that at times it was hard to understand the British accent and I missed some dialogue.  But those who like films about family member and the struggles they endure will like this film.