Life Is Sweet (1991)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

Mike Leigh

Writer:

Mike Leigh (writer)

Release Date:

December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop...

Plot Keywords:

Twin | Lunch Wagon | Restaurant | Father Daughter Relationship | Secret Lover

Awards:

6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Alison Steadman	...	Wendy
Jim Broadbent	...	Andy
Claire Skinner	...	Natalie
Jane Horrocks	...	Nicola
Stephen Rea	...	Patsy
Timothy Spall	...	Aubrey, Regret Rien Owner
David Thewlis	...	Nicola's Lover
Moya Brady	...	Paula, Aubrey's Cook
David Neilson	...	Steve the Plumber
Harriet Thorpe	...	Bunnikins' Customer
Paul Trussel	...	Chef where Andy Works
Jack Thorpe-Baker	...	Nigel

MPAA:

Rated R for language and a scene of sensuality.

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Enfield, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

British Screen Productions

Quotes:

[Natalie and Nicola ponder having children]
Natalie: Well, I wouldn't fancy bringing one up on me own.
Nicola: It's better to be on your own than be with a bastard.
Natalie: Well, presumably you wouldn't *choose* a bastard in the first place if you had any sense!
Nicola: All men are bastards!
Natalie: *What*?
Nicola: They're all potential rapists!
Natalie: That's a bit sweeping!
Nicola: All men have got the ability to rape.
Natalie: Well they don't all do it, do they!
[...]

Movie Connections:

References Magical Mystery Tour (1967) (TV)

Unpretentious but unforgettable domestic drama.

This unpredictable and hard-hitting film follows the lives of the fascinating characters who make up a lower-middle-class family. A character-based story, there really isn't a plot, as there isn't a plot in our everyday lives, but it is all the more interesting for that.

The parents are amicable beings: the mother Wendy a chirpy, motherly character (very well-acted), the father incredibly laid-back, yet hard-working at a job he hates. Their two daughters are like chalk and cheese: Natalie, a plumber, is quiet and practical (I thought she was a boy at first: hers is a curiously unsexed character) while Nicola is a complete mess.

The ugliness of true life is shown beside its mundane beauty. The shocking scenes of Nicola's self-torture (she is a secret bulimic) are juxtaposed with scenes of the mother dusting, and the ordinary cheerfulness of the rest of the family. A bizarre family friend, Aubrey, and his dream of running his own restaurant provide a subplot of sorts, but the domestic drama is far more interesting.

Horricks gives a startling good performance as the disturbed Nicola: she drips with self-loathing, but inspires pity. The most poignant scene is one in which her boyfriend, no Einstein himself, becomes fed up with her intense sexual demands, and asks her to prove her intelligence by having a real conversation with him. Nicola, whom we know is intelligent, cannot bring herself to do this: she is compelled to always show herself in the worst light. She can only mutter 'I AM intelligent' in a voice of despair. The boyfriend departs, leaving her in a state of even more intense self-hatred and depression. It is hard-hitting scenes like this one which stick in the memory.

The mother, Wendy, who appears a scatterbrain at first, emerges as a dignified, wise and compassionate woman, as she responds in a touching scene to her troubled daughter Nicola.

It's such a plain-looking film, yet it is striking because of the intensity of its characters, and the honesty of director Mike Leigh's observations. Although life is hard for the family, it is also sweet. That, I think, is Leigh's message.