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Anyone who grew up in the early eighties in the suburbs listening to The Specials can relate to this. Leigh, as he has done with every decade provides an accurate social comment of the time, the sheer boredom of a disaffected youth, the pointlessness of life without a job and the struggle to fill the days, with something to do. Personally I think it ranks up there with Leigh finest work, helped by an outstanding performance by Tim Roth and wonderful cameos by Gary Oldman, Phil Daniels and Marion Bailey. If you're English born in the seventies and like Mike Leigh it's a must, if your not there still plenty to marvel at. Enjoy.

I'm a big fan of Mike Leigh's gritty films, and 'Meantime' fits well into his admirable canon. He examines the lives of 'ordinary people' unlike any other filmmaker I know. Here, his microscope (forget the lens) is on a NON-working class (perhaps proletarian without the peasant's earth) family in 'estate' housing in the wretched suburbs of London.

Once again, as in all his films, Leigh, using his well-known improvisational rehearsal-and-execution technique, receives razor-sharp performances from his cast. At the centre of this work are two simply superb performances: Phil Daniels as Mark and Tim Roth as his mentally 'slow' younger brother Colin. Anyone who has had a sibling will recognize the evolution of the relationship between these two. It's universal in its reach.

Splendid acting abounds and carries 'Meantime'. As the parents, Jeff Robert and Pam Ferris are all-but-tactile with their sizzling frustration and rage. Gary Oldman as a deeply disaffected youngster is wonderful. A very brief scene where he rolls in a barrel, mindlessly banging it with both hands, is both riveting and disturbing.

The quibbles I have with this film are perhaps minor to some, but of concern to me. One is Andrew Dickson's music. Is that a zither playing in an Egyptian carnival dance band? It is initially just jarring, but then it becomes downright annoying and intrusive.

I quite frankly could have used subtitles in 'Meantime'. Whole sentences just went past me. It's necessary for the stark social realism of Leigh's settings, but for non-Londoners, this can, at times, be rough going. I listened to fragments of this dialogue and it became an exercise in linguistic irony: these characters live in the country where the English language was BORN.

Doesn't matter; it's still a great and very moving film.

Colin (Tim Roth) is unemployed and a little slow. His father Frank is also unemployed and so is almost everyone else he knows. Only his mother Mavis works in the family. His brother Mark (Phil Daniels) and skin head friend Coxy (Gary Oldman) drink their days away. They live aimless, hopeless lives in the jobless underclass of London. Mavis' sister Barbara and her husband John (Alfred Molina) are better off. Barbara gives Colin a job at her house which only turns the family relationships toxic.

This is early Mike Leigh and it is straight into his favorite subject, the English underclass. It's a full length TV movie filled with future stars. It is compelling and not only due to their performances. There is a real sense of these characters and their world. Like most Mike Leigh movies, this is very much a character study. These actors are buzzing with power and soul.

This is Mike Leigh's finest film. Next to this masterpiece his later feature films feel very contrived, it just flows beautifully. It's also very honest, the best depiction of the effects of unemployment I've ever seen on film. But of course as with all Mike Leigh's films it's all about the performances of the actors and they're all pitch perfect. I feel a bit sorry for Tim Roth, his first film role and without a doubt his greatest, how could he ever equal it, it was all downhill from here. A truly heartbreaking performance and if you're not moved by it then you have no empathetic feeling. I also particularly like the performances of Jeff Robert and Pam Ferris as the Mum and Dad. It's a tragedy that this film missed out on getting a theatrical release since it was a few months after it was finished that Channel 4 began shooting on 35mm with a view to feature film distribution. Because it's a 'TV' film it's unjustly ignored in comparison with Leigh's later films, but don't let that put you off, this is a masterpiece. The music is beautiful as well perfectly matching the mood of the film.

An accurate portrait of a family. So touching, there is solidarity behind these harsh dialogues. So funny. It might appear dull, mean, but there is a real human meaning behind it. The old brother tries to educate the younger one who is a bit of a pain one must admit. Watching that film made me feel good, it showed that through mean times there is still something good left in people, poverty creates also solidarity. Something that you don't find so easily in higher social classes. Tim Roth steals the show as the inimitably brilliant Colin Pollock (even the name conjures up an image of backwardness) - and if you ever need proof of the raw talents of a great British actor, watch this film back-to-back with Made in Britain.

The writing is sharper than a knife and in no way is this a gloomy film, and a number of characters introduced for comic effect, the council housing officer. Clichés are nicely avoided at all stages. "Meantime" is a rough and gritty portrait of a dysfunctional council estate family with very little hope for the future, yet the film refuses to wear down the viewer simply by being very funny.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

This is Mike Leigh's finest film.

It's a shame, but inevitable given the climate of the film world, that he has become celebrated for lesser works such as "Secrets And Lies" and the odious "Vera Drake" which I found almost unwatchably patronising. By contrast, "Meantime" is the truth - as anyone who grew up in 80s London will recognise. It's the truth about what Thatcherism did to the working classes, and to human values in general in Britain. It is not by any means, however, a socialist diatribe. It is instead a gentle and touching portrait of lives ruined by forces beyond their control or comprehension. The film's anger at this injustice is all the more powerful and effective for its understatement. Leigh's other great film, "Naked", abandoned this gentleness for brutality and it suffers in comparison accordingly.

That film was saved from being guilty of the charges of nihilism and point blank bleakness by the extraordinary performances of David Thewlis and the late great Katrin Cartlidge. But the acting in "Meantime" is in many ways even more impressive, as the actors have less material - less BUSINESS - to work with. The nuances of expression, of tones of voice, of body language are an object lesson in how to inject meaning and significance into silences and incoherence. Tim Roth tends to get the plaudits for his unforgettable portrayal of the mentally retarded little brother Colin, but Phil Daniels steals the film for me: his eyes are astonishing in the range of emotional depth they command, and his jerky, uncomfortable movements vividly describe a frustrated intellect driven to despair at the hopelessness surrounding him and the terrible fear that this hopelessness is creeping inside of him. But it is in the way that Daniels's character Mark expresses his love for his helpless and hapless idiot brother that finally secures the film's greatness. This love is fierce and hard-won, and most often manifested in petty abuse. But it is real love, true and unconditional, and the way Roth's character Colin responds to it is immediate and instinctive. The bond between them is the stuff of human dignity itself, and it is this that finally transcends the shuffling pettiness of the life they have had foisted off on them.

The most memorable image may well be Gary Oldman's skinhead Coxy rolling around in a gigantic steel bucket, frantically beating at the sides with a piece of metal - a Beckettian device if ever there was one - but there are so many perfect shots, so much to savour. The crane shot of Daniels aimlessly wandering around Piccadilly Circus, the long shot of Daniels and Oldman disappearing down the canal tow-path, the unexpected close-ups, the sheer range of the camera-work is breathtaking in such a cheaply made film.

If Mike Leigh ever makes a better film, or Phil Daniels ever gives a better performance, it will be a miracle. The fact that the film has gone from almost complete obscurity when it was made (1983) to enjoy a steadily growing cult status is indication that, gradually, more and more people are realising that, far from being a dated curio, this is a very special and precious piece of cinematic art indeed.

Having watched this now after his latest film "All or nothing", I'm struck on how similar they are to each other. You could say "Meantime" was a early version "All or Nothing". There's far less light and shade, the drama and dialogue are quite relentless in "Meantime", which makes watching far harder. Notable for debut performances by Tim Roth and Gary Oldman, they along with the rest of the cast portray their characters with amazing believability. This is a minor work compared to some of his early works and all of his later ones, but it's still a major accomplishment and deserves to be seen by those who appreciate challenging drama. (6/10)

Mike Leigh wrote the screenplay and directed MEANTIME. The screenplay deserves plaudits because you are drawn to its immanent truth about how decaying social conditions and rank poverty force people down materially and, particularly, spiritually; how they keep people in a limbo that renders them apathetic and without a will to fight, convinced of their own uselessness; and the pointlessness and fruitlessness of life as a result, symbolized by a black woman ambivalent about her pregnancy, and a young woman that Roth yearns after but does not get to sleep with.

The acting is splendid across the board. I have always found Tim Roth one of the great unsung actors of the 1980s and 1990s, and this performance clearly points to upward mobility. Gary Oldman would go on to get deserved awards. Here, he plays a truly repulsive good for nothing forever thumbing his nose at law and social behavior. Marion Bayley is superb as Roth's aunt who takes an interest in her nephew and offers him a home repair job, only to see the other nephew, nihilistically played by Phil Daniels, thwart her generous offer and effort to get Roth's and Daniels' family out of their rut.

Some reviewers suggest that this film shows the effects of Thatcherism. I am not British, did not live in England in the 1980s, so I know nothing about that, but this indecisive, almost waveless film certainly shows that the social boat is about to rock because people are so deeply unhappy.

Not an easy watch, but certainly a truthful and intelligent one. 7/10.

'Meantime' is a modernist masterpiece, closer to Antonioni than Loach, all the more remarkable for having been made on TV, and transcending the incidentals of portentousness, contrivance and misogyny. Leigh doesn't simply record the monumental, faceless, soulless tenements that dwarf his characters, as a social-realist would: he allows them to shape his narrative, a rigid, static series of concrete tableaux. Leigh doesn't reduce his characters to caricature (a complaint often levelled against him) - Thatcherism does, by removing all those things - hope, work, dreams etc. - that mark humanity and individuality. As bitterly angry and funny as 'Naked'.

Doctor Octopus, Commissioner Gordon and The Abomination all join forces in this 80's gem. Displays real people in a real environment trying to get on with their daily struggles of unemployment. Leigh certainly has an eye for realism, but not an ear for music. It's probably the fact this was 24 years ago now, but the music is jarring and off-putting. Roth and Phil Daniels are brilliant as brothers, displaying the right amount of bitter hatred and genuine love and concern. No matter what, Leigh captures families by approaching each individual as exactly that, but always keeping an eye on how the family forms the roots and influences these characters. You never question their relationships because of Leigh's detail.

Don't really know why but I couldn't look away. Nothing really happens, and no one really says anything, except for an exchange about economics and anthills, but something about it is captivating. Great performances of course are some of that. Saxy is a feral animal.

Meantime is my first Leigh movie and it is very good for a tv movie. The movie looks bleak and ordinary just like the family it presents. Tim Roth and Gary Oldman's performance were really good, the story itself was depressing one but it showed the reality of Thatcher's government. It was frustrating for me to watch at times and I wish we got deeper into storyline of some characters but the movie really nailed what it means to have an older brother and how that dynamic works...

I live in London and am very much working class.

I watched this film while shaking my head and wondering who watches this sort of dire stereotypical tripe.

Then it suddenly became clear during the scene where the nice, decent, middle class man from the council popped round to fix the windows. This man, in all his smug glory, put the world to rights before retreating so the main characters (all of whom were paper thin parodies of real life), could continue arguing, slamming doors, smoking, and generally being all working class for another hour or so before the film finished.

Dire. Absolutely no narrative with THE MOST ANNOYING AND IRRELEVANT SOUNDTRACK I've ever heard in a film.

I was left wondering who on Earth is this movie aimed at? And then I read several reviews on IMDb stating this is a post modern masterpiece, etc etc.

If you want to know about working class life in the 80's try the brilliant Made In Britain (also with Tim Roth), or the equally excellent TV series Boys From The Black Stuff. If you want to watch nearly two hours of patronising faux intellectualism passed off as cutting edge social commentary, Meantime is probably the film for you.

Uncomfortable glimpse into poverty ridden Thatcher era London and what happens to the working and underclass when there are no jobs or prospects. A life on the dole, and the affects it has on the people, the families and the area. A young Gary Oldman as the demented delinquent skinhead Coxy and Tim Roth playing mentally handicapped Colin. Both brilliant performances. Still can't believe how young they were here.

Ugly and gritty, just as it's meant to be. Bit bleak for me though and I wish they'd stop repeating that same bit of music over and over!

As the title of Mike Leigh's first film testified he had his bleak moments and "Meantime" was certainly one of them, He made it in 1983 for ITV and yes, it is funny in that very mordant, very sour Mike Leigh manner but it is so grim at times it's a difficult film to like or even fully appreciate. Set on a housing estate in London's East End it centres on one working-class family though neither the father, (Jeffrey Robert), nor either of his two sons, (Tim Roth and Phil Daniels), actually work and Leigh, at least initially, treats them with something bordering on middle-class contempt though by the end he seems to have mellowed into a kind of warped affection for them.

They are all portrayed as stereotypical yobs; one son appears to be mentally defective, the other corroded by cynicism with only the would-be middle-class aunt given any trace of humanism in Marion Bailey's superb performance. It's a deeply depressing film chock full of deeply depressing characters such as Gary Oldman's skinhead and lacks any of the basic warmth you might associate with Ken Loach. It's terrifically well-acted by everyone, (Oldman, Roth and Daniels are particularly brilliant), but it's also a very tough watch.

Although this film was made in 1983 I have only recently seen it. It featured as part of a Mike leigh feature on TV last year. Once more these people are like real poeple not acters which is something I admire most about his films.The family in this film are all unemployed and are getting on each others nerves. They are living in a cramped house and are constantly rowing, this I think is down to fustration about the situation. They are taking it out on each other. The father keeps nagging his sons to go out and get a job whilst he does not appear to be making any effort himself. At least one of the sons did try to do something, that was until his brother stuck his nose in. Something I notice not only in this film but elsewhere too is that many people without a lot of money always manage to find money to smoke and drink.The sad thing is they haven't many other pleasures in life, these things are the way they relax and unwind . It perhaps helps take minds off their troubles for a while. I enjoyed this film, it is well made, well acted and a lot of research has gone into it.

Director Mike Leigh wanted to breakaway from television and into the movies. Meantime was a first step although it is a television movie for the then fledgling Channel 4.

The title is literal. Set in London in the early 1980s in Mrs Thatcher's Britain. You have characters who are literally mean to each other.

It really is a tale of two brothers. The socially awkward, probably autistic Colin (Tim Roth) and gobby, more streetwise Mark (Phil Daniels.)

Both are unemployed and they live with their parents in a tower block.

When their more upwardly mobile aunt offers Colin a job to redecorate her house. Mark's nose is put out of joint.

Meantime is a meandering slice of life movie. It has early performances from Roth and Gary Oldman who plays skinhead Coxy.

It did capture the grimness of the early 1980s. Ironically many people now in their 50s and 60s look back nostalgically at that era with a warm glow.

'Meantime' offers one of the most honest depictions of suffocating domesticity. This is a languidly paced slice-of-life film where Mike Leigh leaves no stone unturned to give us a raw representation of financial hopelessness and social disenchantment in Margaret Thatcher's England. The film mostly follows the members of the Pollocks, a working class London family who live in a state of perennial stagnation. Everyone is unemployed and the whole family has no option but to survive on the weekly dole provided by the government. The members of the family namely Frank, Mavia and the brothers Mark & Colin do very little apart from sitting on the sofas of their cramped apartment and watching television. Leigh takes his time to capture the disillusionment, the constant sense of internal humiliation and jealousy that exists in this household. Once we leave the apartment, Leigh introduces us to a few other characters like the idiosyncratic skinhead Coxy, the really shy neighbourhood girl Hayley(whom Colin crushes over) and of course the John & Barbara who are related to the Pollocks by way of Barbara being Mavia's sister.

Leigh enriches the film by giving each of the characters in the film their own unique traits and behavioral tendencies which only add to the raw grounded realism. There is a clear indication of clash between classes in the very opening scene where the viewer can feel the tension caused by the jealousy of Frank and Mavia for having to spend time in the suburban home of John and Barbara who at times inadvertently make Frank and Mavia conscious of the financial contrasts between the two families. There is also a scene involving Coxy and a black man in an elevator which is filled to the brim with racially charged tension. But in an overall sense Leigh is trying to convey that when society as a whole goes through a period of cultural decadence and economic stagnation, the class struggles and racial tension is a possible eventuality.

From a visual standpoint, Leigh makes the apartment rooms look as cramped up, restrictive and claustrophobic as possible. He extensively uses close-ups of characters' faces in pretty much every scene to capture reactions. The visual style is a deliberate attempt to complement and convey the sense of entrapment experienced by the characters. The acting as expected is very naturalistic. Tim Roth deserves special mention for expertly portraying the character of the 'slow' Colin. He conveys a lot without words, with the help of his expressive eyes.

'Meantime' can seem a little too dour and depressing for some viewers. But just like the Italian neo-realist films of the 40s and 50s, this is a film that has one solitary intention which is to capture the essence and spirit of an ailing contemporary society with very little hope. It showcases the effects of the all- encompassing forces of poverty and cultural aimlessness. It's not cheery, but it isn't meant to be. It is what it is and I believe it achieves success in being what it is.

Many viewers may want to turn this film off before it ends. They may not want to give it a chance. I think that is because the characters in this brilliant little story inhabit a world that is bleak and not welcoming. It is depressing, to say the least. But this is a real, honest story, and though it may not be what many viewers are used to, it is really nice if you just give it a chance. And hey, there are even a few good laughs in here. Enjoy!

I saw Mike Leigh's film "Meantime" when it came out in 1983. It was disturbing then, just as it is now, 35 years later. If anyone would like to know what it was like to live in the U.K. when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, then watching Mike Leigh's film "Meantime" will give them some idea of how bad it was. It's 1983, Margaret Thatcher has been in power for four years. The country is in recession. Unemployment is endemic. The miners are out on strike, protesting about the government's plan to shut down Unprofitable mines, thereby putting countless miners out of work. A resurgent IRA makes an attempt on Thatcher's life by blowing up the hotel where she was staying for the Conservative Party's Annual Conference. She Survived the bombing and eventually, crushes the miner's union. It's against this background that the film is set. For the Pollock family, who are unwilling victims of what came to be known as "Thatcherism" and life was tough. They barely scrape by, living in a small, cramped flat in a tower block in London's East End. The Wife, Mavis (Pam Ferris) her husband, Frank (Jeffrey Robert) and their two sons: Colin (Tim Roth) and Mark (Phil Daniels) are all on the dole. They constantly get on each other's nerves, and feet. Mavis continually nags her husband Frank to get a job; Frank in turn, harasses his sons to find work, even though he doesn't seem to be making any effort himself. Colin is rather slow and quiet. His older brother is the total opposite: loud mouthed, self-opinionated and posses a cruel streak, often calling Colin "Kermit" and "Muppet" Looking for a job is is too hard: so they don't try. This that kind of self-defeatist logic, both Colin and mark are lucky to have a roof over their head and three square meals a day, even though their parents drive them demented. To relieve the boredom, Colin makes friends with an obnoxious skinhead named Coxy (Gary Oldman's first starring role). This gets up his brother's nose. Mark spends his time cadging money from friends or visiting the unemployment office. Their aunt Barbara (Marion Bailey) offers Colin a chance to earn some cash by helping her redecorate her home, but a jealous Mark, when he finds out, goes round to the house and begins to taunt Colin mercilessly before storming out. When Colin arrives back home his had his head shaved. He looks like a skinhead, but does not act like one. Note: "Meantime" was made at a time when the British Film Industry was under threat from funding cuts by the Thatcher government. Thatcher had little interest in the arts or in cinema, so it's a tribute to the tenacity of directors like Mike Leigh, who, in common with his fellow filmmakers, refused to be intimidated by the likes of Margaret Thatcher.

Along with Alan Clark and Ken Loach Mike Leigh was at the forefront of British social realist . Of these three directors I always found Clarke the most incisive of the trio and SCUM is still well regarded even by people who were born after the release of the cinema version in 1979 . Loach however became a parody of a professional socialist shouting on a soap box and his films became increasingly polemical masturbation fantasy involving the oppressed proles . Leigh is somewhat different from his two peers . While he doesn't stuff politics down the audiences throat he hasn't really made a film with the same impact as SCUM . That said I do remember seeing MEANTIME on Channel 4 in the 1980s , liking it and discussing with my peers . Over 30 years later it has an amazing cast of British actors before they well known Leigh has always had a reputation of spotting potential raw talent and of the cast Phil Daniels was by the far best known cast member of this production . Roth , Oldman , Molina and even Pam Ferris would have to be slightly patient before becoming well known thespians . Watching the talent here is no surprise that Oldman and Roth moved in to international stardom . Roth plays a retarded social outcast trying to find his way in life while Oldman plays a fascist National Front skinhead

The downside is that MEANTIME is a very mundane , low concept film where very little happens . In fact the only incident of note is Oldman's fascist sharing a lift with a big black guy . That said it is a window on the world of Thatcher's Britain where a haircut might cost as much as £1.20 and the hourly rate of pay in a dead end job was £1.70 . Most nostalgic of all was the drug of choice being Carlsberg Special Brew . Apart from that MEANTIME isn't nearly as good as I remembered it as

The trusties of English working-class life (of misery). It sounds (and looks) depressing, but turns out to be more entertaining than one would imagine; after all, this isn't a Ken Loach film. The reasons why it's good are the usual ones in a Mike Leigh film; interesting characters, excellent acting from the entire cast, and well thought-out dialog. Roth is particularly good, and shows all the Hanks's and Di Caprio's how mental retardation is really supposed to be played. The film gets better as it goes along, and all's well that ends miserably. The film could have been titled "No Hope, Hand Me The Rope". Generally, one should check out Leigh's early movies; the ones up until the late 90s.

Anybody who downvotes this film and says 'yeah i'm from London' (but grew up in a middle class household) knows absolutely nothing about this era...i'm a Stoke lad (so yeah i grew up in a Kes era up north) but i was also forced to live in london during the 80's/90's...This film captures all that Thatcherism did to the UK.. I'm a working class lad, yes i've been on the dole (i know what a UB40 was) so to come over and ridicule this is appalling. Faux critics in their ivory towers...meh...the sheer audacity. I've lived this life, and Mike Leigh does a terrific job at portraying it...Also Phil Daniels needs some recognition on a great turn...so before you go mouthing off over nothing you know about...consider the past reality. Peace and love to all.