Who is up for a largely improvised drama set in poverty-stricken Thatcher-era London?  Anyone?  Ok, we get it, but what if we told you it was directed by Mike Leigh and it features early virtuoso performances by Tim Roth and Gary Oldman?  And that they aren’t even the best part?  Hint: it’s a acerbic but tender characterization by Phil Daniels as a wise-ass brother navigating the dole, neighborhood skinheads, nagging parents, patronizing relatives, unemployment, and a society and government that has all but given up him.  

If you’d like to watch ahead for next week’s film, we will be discussing and reviewing Wim Wender’s The American Friend (1977).