Mike Leigh Films

Amidst the often universal acclaim it’s sometimes hard to remember why Mike Leigh is one of the few British directors able to hold international attention. One aspect of his brilliance emerges when characters you’ve been laughing at or despairing over are suddenly revealed to be uncomfortably familiar. From Roger Sloman’s explosion in Nuts in Ma... show more >

Amidst the often universal acclaim it’s sometimes hard to remember why Mike Leigh is one of the few British directors able to hold international attention. One aspect of his brilliance emerges when characters you’ve been laughing at or despairing over are suddenly revealed to be uncomfortably familiar. From Roger Sloman’s explosion in Nuts in May (1976) to David Thewlis’ nihilism in Naked (1991) - these people are us.

Working with a regular rotating cast of familiar faces – including Jim Broadbent, Timothy Spall, Phil Davies, Ruth Sheen - Leigh’s films deliver incredibly humane performances, built up from much improvisation and rehearsal.

Like many of the prominent pre-baby boom directors, the RADA trained Leigh bedded in with the BBC as the British film industry collapsed in the 1970s. During this period he created some of the BBC’s best dramas such as Abigail’s Party (1978). Once he started making films expressly for the cinema from 1988 (with High Hopes) there was no stopping him with the trio of Life is Sweet (1990), Naked and Secrets & Lies (1996) garnering critical plaudits and awards aplenty.

Perhaps unfairly marked as a ‘grim’ social realist given the bleakness of some of his work Leigh continues to surprise with the optimism of Happy-Go-Lucky (2008) and the occasional costume drama like Topsy-Turvy (1999). < show less