X
- 1998
- R
- Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
- 2 h 8 m
- 1998
- R
- Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
- 2 h 8 m
Summary A rough, short-tempered patriarch of a working-class family sees his life and the relationships around him slowly unravel.
Directed By: Gary Oldman
Written By: Gary Oldman
- 1998
- R
- Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
- 2 h 8 m
- 1998
- R
- Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment
- 2 h 8 m
Nil by Mouth
76
User Score
Available after 4 ratings
tbd
Where to Watch
Summary A rough, short-tempered patriarch of a working-class family sees his life and the relationships around him slowly unravel.
Directed By: Gary Oldman
Written By: Gary Oldman
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
76
95% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
76
95% Positive
19 Reviews
19 Reviews
5% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Nil by Mouth is a scaldingly invigorating filmaking debut. [06 Mar 1998, p.D7]
Shot through a bleary haze of cigarette smoke, alcohol, and hard drugs, Nil By Mouth is the cinematic equivalent of Oldman's old acting style, a return to form by absentia.
Violence breeds violence, and Oldman’s film shows us this horrific reproduction without compromise, hesitation or shame.
Raw, unsettling account of a working-class London family beset by poverty, drug abuse, and domestic violence. The screenplay by filmmaker Oldman is based on his own youthful experience in similarly distressed circumstances, and his directorial debut has the virtue of authenticity if not of understatement. [20 Feb 1998, p.B2]
Nil by Mouth is slow to get going, and meanders before its impact scenes in the second half. Still, its final intensity can leave you exhausted. If you stay with the picture, it's a powerful experience you're unlikely to forget.
This film is a portrait, and it's a mesmerizing, unforgettable one. The story of how a boy like Gary Oldman comes out of this world and becomes something different -- that's a drama, but perhaps its end has yet to be written.
Gary Oldman made his directorial debut with this unflinching portrait of life in a London family. Bleak, violent and foul-mouthed, it's the story of people battling their way through miserable lives that are all they have ever known. [25 Sep 2010, p.35]
User Reviews
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Production Company
SE8 Group,
EuropaCorp
Release Date Feb 6, 1998
Duration 2 h 8 m
Rating R
Genres
Awards
British Independent Film Awards
• 3 Wins & 6 Nominations
BAFTA Awards
• 2 Wins & 4 Nominations
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Win & 3 Nominations
