Mike Leigh Night

Nuts in May. It has the same kind of merciless, appalling, flesh-creeping quality as a Martin Amis novel or The Office (especially when they reach for their guitars...). I find it quite hard to watch because it's so excruciatingly embarrassing in places (mostly when Keith is talking, which is the majority of the film).

I prefer Mike Leigh's middle period to his earlier or later stuff - especially High Hopes, Life is Sweet and Career Girls. They're a bit kinder to their characters than the early ones, and feel slightly more realistic than his later films. He's taken on 'big themes' more recently, with historical dramas like Vera Drake or rants like Naked. I remember an episode of A Bit of Fry and Laurie where Fry snarls 'Tonight's theme is: THEMES. WHAT GOOD ARE THEY?'. I feel a bit like that about Mike Leigh's stuff. When they wear their meaning lightly I think they work best.