The Mike Leigh blog... 1

Seeing as the new Mike Leigh film is out (Another Year - 96% on Rotten Tomatoes), I am going to celebrate the miserable old northern bastard.


Miserable?   People who think that also don't like The Smiths because they are miserable.  They are missing the wit, the hope and the humour.  Some Mike Leigh films are bleak - as his career has progressed they, and perhaps he, have become more hopeful, or at least more balanced.  Anyway, life is pretty bleak sometimes, and in those times Leigh's films remind me that I'm not alone.


It reminds me of Cezanne, who started painting dark, violent canvasses and progressed towards brighter, lighter scenes as his career progressed.  


I am going to run through all his films - I think I've seen most of them, if not all - in a few blogs which will probably not interest anyone... but you never know.  I may sound harsh occasionally, and may not sound like a fan at all... but then fandom has that quality, whereby you may criticise the thing you love but you will hear no such criticism from the uninitiated!


Fact is, Mike Leigh has made some fucking awful films - but they have all contributed to his development.   I wouldn't say every film has been better than the last, but there is a definite upwards trend which reminds us how important it is to give an artist time to develop.  


Mind you, Leigh has given himself this time by tenaciously sticking to his working method and not embracing Hollywood offers.  


His working method, if you don't know, is what makes him really unique.  Basically he starts off with an idea or theme or some characters and develops them with the actors through improvisations.  Some people think his films are improvised - they are not, he always has a script by the time the film is made - but this method makes his films feel different somehow from anything else.


They probably seem slow at first, because he gives the situations and characters time to breathe.  Each film is rather like a meditation - the creation of a mood which envelops you and remains for a long time afterwards, perhaps years, perhaps forever.


If you have not seen any of these films, I urge you to do so.  If you do read these blogs you should at least know where to start...