Deviser-director Mike Leigh has made a considerable reputation for himself with a series of artfully `improvised' plays - the most famous being probably the savage Abigail's Party. Here, working with his biggest budget to date, he uses location filming to good effect and derives a great deal of mordant humour from the activities of an East End family. There are memorable performances from Marion Bailey and Gary Oldman. There's also an early appearance of Tim Roth who went on to receive greater notices as a cockney hood in the film The Hit than his co-stars - John Hurt and Terence Stamp.

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