Before he was the man of a thousand faces,Gary Oldmanwas making a name for himself on the London stage, and it didn’t take long for the British film industry to take notice. His breakthrough came with a small but memorable role inMike Leigh’sMeantime,a TV moviethat helped launch big screen careers for both the director and star. For Leigh, it paved the way for the slice-of-life character dramas he would excel at for the rest of his career. For Oldman, it offered a glimpse into the kind of transformational performances that would earn him a reputation as one of our finest living actors.
‘Meantime’ Brought Mike Leigh’s Talent Into Full Bloom
Meantimefollows the daily lives of the Pollock family, who have been hit hard by the recession England experienced duringMargaret Thatcher’s reign as Prime Minister. The mother, Mavis (Pam Ferris), works a meager-paying job while her husband, Frank (Jeffrey Robert), and their sons, Mark (Phil Daniels) and Colin (Tim Roth), collect unemployment. Colin, who is so shy as to be nearly non-communicative, is in love with Hayley (Tilly Vosburgh), but he can’t bring himself to ask her out. His brother constantly berates him in between roaming the streets with his friend, the skinhead Coxy (Oldman). Their aunt, Barbara (Marion Bailey), hires Colin to redecorate the home she shares with their uncle, John (Alfred Molina). Mark shows up, bitter that he wasn’t given the job, and Colin completely shuts down, returning home with a shaved head.
Leigh directedMeantimeduring the 17-year period between his first feature, 1971’sBleak Moments, and his second, 1988’sHigh Hopes. During thatnearly two-decade long gap, Leigh honed his talents for improvisational stories centered on working-class people with a series of television films produced by the BBC.Meantimewas actually a product of the BBC’s competitor,Channel 4, which would eventually facilitate Leigh’s return to the big screen when the movies they produced were given theatrical distribution.Meantimedistinguished itself from his other TV work by being shot on 16mm film as opposed to videotape.
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“Do you think Death could possibly be a boat?”
Swapping out tape for film stock isn’t the only way in whichMeantimefeels like a proper Leigh feature. There isn’t much plot to speak of, just a series of vignettes exploring the everyday rhythms of his characters. Leigh, who famouslyconstructs his scripts through lengthy improvisationswith the actors, shows a willingness to patiently watch as miniature dramas unfold. There’s an authenticity tohis portrayal of poverty, with the Pollock family’s cramped public housing contrasted with the middle-class home Barbara has managed to secure through her loveless marriage. Rather than wallow in misery, Leigh finds a great deal of humor in their lives without ever making it feel forced. The key lies in the movie’s title: what happens in the “meantime,” while you’re waiting for your life to start?
‘Meantime’ Showed What Gary Oldman Was Capable Of
Oldman has only a handful of scenes as Cox, a vulgar racist who spends his days trying to get Mark to buy him a beer. Yet every time he’s on-screen, he displays the wild-eyed energy and subtle humanitythat would make him a star. Cox is a firecracker, set to explode at any moment, yet afraid to show the fear lurking underneath. He pays a visit to Hayley’s apartment with Colin, and on the way they encounter a Black person in the elevator. Cox makes racist jokes before running away from a fight, taking out his anger on Hayley’s couch. At one point, he’s seen rolling around in a steel cylinder, banging the walls with a hammer, having little else to pass the time with.
It’s little wonder that three years afterMeantimepremiered, Oldman won the lead role of self-destructive punk rockerSid ViciousinSid and Nancy. Yet, what’s astounding is the total left swing he made in his next role as slain playwrightJoe OrtoninPrick Up Your Ears.Oldman quickly became known for completely inhabiting a character through makeup and mannerisms, fromLee Harvey OswaldinJFKandCount DraculainBram Stoker’s Dracula,toGeorge SmileyinTinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spyand his Oscar-winning turn asWinston ChurchillinDarkest Hour.Those characters couldn’t be any different from Cox, but then again, Oldman was never one to repeat himself.
Meantimeis available to watch on The Criterion Channel in the U.S.
