It starts well, the characters are decent and overall it had a potential to be really good, but the "realism" here is actually what stops me from being really connected to the characters. There still are some touching moments, though.

Excellent effort about Leigh's favorite theme, suburban frustrations.

Sweet stuff from Leigh with a slight edge. The ensemble concept isn't as fully explored as I had hoped, Sally Hawkins part is hardly noticeable, and even less so for her family.

Mike Leigh's worst film? His usual sense of humour is gone as he indulges in trite miserabalism. Despite all its attempts at realism it feels so forced, fake and manipulative as Leigh piles on bad thing after bad thing onto these characters whilst they shout at one another for the majority of the runtime, and the sombre, beautiful cello score tries to make all this suffering seem like destiny or something and in doing so is just condescending. It's just all so one-dimensional.

A depressing tale about depressed and desperate people set in a grotty housing project in South London. Leigh is known for his slice-of-life dramas but this just stays one-dimensional.

A bit condescending, but it does feel very authentic and provides some touching moments when people do manage to connect. Leigh can't seem to find his focus, and what starts out as a broader ensemble piece becomes rather narrow by the third act. I wanted to see what happened to some of the other characters, particularly Maureen, who was the most likeable and level-headed of the lot.

A uniquely MikeLeighian film about the despair and poignancy of ordinary life. Not for all tastes but if you were interested only in mainstream stuff you wouldn't be reading this

Not as good as Naked or Happy-Go-Lucky, but the actors give great performances, and Leigh remains one my favorite directors.

I don't know how he does it. I can think of too few directors that so successfully draw me into their world. Reality. Beauty.