Nil By Mouth

It's about as subtle as a steel-toed boot to the groin, but actor Gary Oldman's gut-wrenching directing debut aches with grim honesty. Against the dreary backdrop of Southeast London's concrete housing estates, the lives of three underclass Brits come crashing down: Ray (Ray Winstone) is a sadistic loudmouth given to fits of coke-fueled paranoia and drunken rages; Valerie (Kathy Burke) is his pregnant, long-suffering wife and punching bag; and Billy (Charlie Creed-Miles) is her desperate younger brother, trapped in a dead-end job and pricey heroin addiction. There's no narrative to speak of: Oldman's conversational, improvisatory script follows his characters as th...