All or Nothing (Mike Leigh)

Few filmmakers are able to get to the center of life better than Mike Leigh. His films ache with the harsh realities that working-class families experience. All or Nothing, Leigh's haunting, somber look at three families caught in the daily grind of "getting by, week in and week out," strips bare human emotion with profoundly moving exactness. Tracking the lives of several residents of a housing estate, the film pays the most attention to the Bassetts. The father, Phil (Spall), drives a cab to help support the family. He receives little respect or emotional support from his hard-working wife or distant children. Affection is a luxury they can ill afford. It takes a tragedy to bring the family together and to analyze what truly matters in their world. As heartbreaking as it is powerful, All or Nothing understands the complexities of relationships and the ebb and flow of love. And though the characters' lives are sad ones, this tempered, quiet film ultimately becomes an unexpectedly uplifting experience -- re-kindling a faith in love and family even under the most desperate conditions.

Mekado Murphy