Grown-Ups

Peter McGinn

This is an early effort by Mike Leigh, a writer/director I really like. It seems to have been part of a BBC TV film series. I can’t say enough about the acting up and down the cast list. Brenda Blethyn and Lesley Manviile did the same superlative job I would come to expect from them in later roles. And I guess Phil Davis must have done a great job also, for he made me dislike his character intensely, and later I realized I have enjoyed a lot of his later work. Like with most of Mike Leigh’s family dramas, the story builds up to an emotional crisis point, and then settles back into a slightly improved post-crisis place. I didn’t enjoy this as much as his other films. There seemed to be less depth to it. There is a lot of small talk hare about life for the less than affluent. The only social issue that showed promise was the mention of apparent abuse in parental home of the two sisters, which Mandy escaped by getting married (though to sn unlivable guy) and who left her sister Gloria to deal with their father alone. Still, definitely worth watching, and maybe a good starting point for those who don’t know Mike Leigh’s work.