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Meantime

Play trailer Poster for Meantime TV-MA 1983 1h 44m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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89% Tomatometer 9 Reviews 80% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Two brothers (Phil Daniels, Tim Roth) live on the dole in a small apartment with their unemployed parents in London's East End.
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Meantime

Critics Reviews

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Walter Goodman New York Times The first hour is given to aimless glimpses of aimless existences, and the second, in which Colin finds a sort of deliverance, is contrived in concept and awkward in execution. Apr 9, 2005 Full Review Brian Susbielles InSession Film It’s a slice-of-life of struggle in the family with commonplace events that fall in between. Mar 7, 2023 Full Review Matt Brunson Film Frenzy Playing a skinhead doesn't require much subtlety, but Gary Oldman nevertheless manages to go well over the top. Rated: 3/4 Oct 11, 2021 Full Review David Harris Spectrum Culture Meantime may very well be the template for many of Leigh's most beloved, subsequent works. Sep 30, 2019 Full Review Nathanael Hood Audiences Everywhere A crucial glimpse into the societal ennui felt by Britain's working class during the 1980s. Rated: B+ Dec 27, 2018 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews A powerful but bleak TV movie kitchen-sink drama. Rated: B- May 27, 2016 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Shioka O Story of becoming Skinheads. That's it. I didn't know Tim Roth and Phil Daniels worked as brothers! Great casting. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/19/22 Full Review Audience Member Superb British humour, grim - understood by all those young adults that lived & struggled through the Thatcher years great cast from some fine actors Leigh at his best Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/04/23 Full Review Audience Member Perfectly articulates a sense of hopelesness and waste and leaves us without a conclusion to the sense of social ennui. In particular the way that Mark and Colin's family bristle with their mother's middle class sister is very well done, a masterclass in expressing class tensions. Elements of self-sabotage could in some ways be read as a criticism of the protagonists, but in the context of Mike Leigh's work I think we can be confident that wasn't what he was aiming for. Bleak. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review michael a It's films like this that should be shown at every school to illustrate exactly what it is that the older generation has given to this country to make it so much better than 40 years ago. It's bleakness and desperation is a testament to how far we have come. You can smell this movie, it's that good. And the score, although jarring, works perfectly. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Mike Leigh's impressive early partially improvised work showcases multiple amazing performances, especially from the central duo, Tim Roth and Phil Daniels as Colin and Mark, two deadbeat brothers in 1980s Thatcher's London, heavily unemployed, suffering from a painful class gap. Even though the film never seems to directly bash the infamously criticized system shown on the screen, Leigh does emphasize the darkness created by said system: the crippling feeling of helplessness in the face of a world doing its best to keep you inside the cage of poverty, all kinds of petty reactions to the abovementioned system like envy and frustration on 'the rich'. Although bleak and pseudo-realistic in nature, Meantime still finds the few beams of light in the blackness, using dark humor and witty observations on the little man, making him (or her) relatable. Pair that with the film's clever lines (I cannot say the word 'script' since one cannot tell what was script and what was improvised) and you'll get a must-watch for anyone interested in the unfiltered tongue-in-cheek social commentary of the 80's and 90's English cinema. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member Little victories of domestic life are really the biggest victories, especially when you start with no dignity. Here is a spontaneous development of a powerful and rather victorious story arc. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Meantime

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Movie Info

Synopsis Two brothers (Phil Daniels, Tim Roth) live on the dole in a small apartment with their unemployed parents in London's East End.
Director
Mike Leigh
Producer
Graham Benson
Screenwriter
Mike Leigh
Production Co
Central Productions
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
British English
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Runtime
1h 44m
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