Wonderful, one of Mike Leigh's best stories. Just try to forget that phony 'deep and revolutionary' character, the window guy.

music was a bit odd, otherwise ok

Great.

It'd be easier to think better of this if that horrible scene with the window guy wasn't included; the music being played over and over also doesn't help. Great work from the rest of the cast, with Gary Oldman being the obvious standout, and a enormous asset in Leigh's penchant for intelligently written characters.

One of the worst musical scores I've ever heard that sounds dreadful, kicks you straight out of the film and undoes any attempts at genuineness with its quirks. Also there are some irritating characters, including a window salesman who appears for only a few minutes but in those few minutes had me successfully shouting at my netbook (also caricatures, of which that window salesman is definitely one, don't help the film when it's going for the whole grim, down to Earth look).

Powerfull thanks to incredible performances by youngsters Oldman and Roth. But in this early effort Leigh hadn't really found his finely tuned balance between (here, irritating) symbolic caricatures and hardhitting slice-of-life as in his later wonderful work. And that horrible music is a drawback.

Didn't watch more than 1/3.

Ought to re-watch.

Tim Roth and Gary Oldman's first appearance together, this is a hidden gem for anyone interested in their early work or Mike Leigh's TV movies. It's an extremely nuanced film, focusing in detail on the everyday life in Thatcher's Britain but also serves as a fine character study, in the image of Roth as a timid, possibly slow teenager seeking something to do (or avoid doing) in his life. Oldman is a tough skinhead whom he befriends and their odd relationship is one of the many highlights here.

One of Mike Leigh's best. The young Roth and Oldman are superb. A piece of '80s history. The pace is slow, but there is tension in every moment.