A working-class family in London's East End is struggling to stay afloat during the recession under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's premiership. Only the mother Mavis is working; father Frank and the couple's two sons Colin, a timid, chronically shy individual and Mark, an outspoken, headstrong young man, are on the dole. This situation is contrasted by the presence of Mavis's sister Barbara, and her husband John, whose financial and social loftiness appears to be a comfortable facade over the unspoken soreness of a lackluster marriage.
Mike Leigh
Writer
Andrew Dickson
Original Music Composer
Mike Leigh
Director
Roger Pratt
Director of Photography
Graham Benson
Producer
Phil Daniels
Mark
Tim Roth
Colin
Jeffrey Robert
Frank
Pam Ferris
Mavis
Gary Oldman
Coxy
Marion Bailey
Barbara
Alfred Molina
John
Tilly Vosburgh
Haley
Leila Bertrand
Hayley's Friend
Hepburn Graham
Boyfriend
Peter Wight
Estate Manager
Eileen Davies
Unemployment Benefit Clerk
