Stars Marion Bailey, Paul Jesson, Kate O’Flynn, and Alice Bailey Johnson

Synopsis:

One of our most steadfast, unflinching chroniclers of the human condition, Mike Leigh has now crafted, along with a customarily brilliant ensemble, a portrayal of overwhelmed, resilient lives in post-Brexit England that should be received as one of his signature works. At its center is Amy (Kate O’Flynn), a government child protection worker who, after a failed relationship, has moved back in with her chipper best friend, Rosie (Alice Bailey Johnson), whose job as a social services officer is a daily confrontation with anger and resentment. Meanwhile, Amy’s aging parents (Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson), concerned with their daughter’s happiness, suddenly have to contend with a crisis of their own. Smiling through their struggles—with or without a trusty bottle of wine—these finely drawn characters, and all of the remarkable supporting characters with whom they come into contact, speak volumes about the U.K.’s underfunded and fragmented care sector. Avoiding didacticism and maintaining a leveling sense of humor, Leigh shows, with clear-eyed compassion, the difficulty of asking for—and accepting—help in a world that continually lets us down.

also some sad news

take it easy goat

happy I got to see him at NYFF for Hard Truths, hoping they show this one this year

nah goat I will not believe it

Woah Mike Leigh x Kate o flyn from widows bay

Mike Leigh really is a GOAT, his consistency is absurd.

Synopsis:

One of our most steadfast, unflinching chroniclers of the human condition, Mike Leigh has now crafted, along with a customarily brilliant ensemble, a portrayal of overwhelmed, resilient lives in post-Brexit England that should be received as one of his signature works. At its center is Amy (Kate O’Flynn), a government child protection worker who, after a failed relationship, has moved back in with her chipper best friend, Rosie (Alice Bailey Johnson), whose job as a social services officer is a daily confrontation with anger and resentment. Meanwhile, Amy’s aging parents (Marion Bailey and Paul Jesson), concerned with their daughter’s happiness, suddenly have to contend with a crisis of their own. Smiling through their struggles—with or without a trusty bottle of wine—these finely drawn characters, and all of the remarkable supporting characters with whom they come into contact, speak volumes about the U.K.’s underfunded and fragmented care sector. Avoiding didacticism and maintaining a leveling sense of humor, Leigh shows, with clear-eyed compassion, the difficulty of asking for—and accepting—help in a world that continually lets us down.