It's difficult not to be overwhelmed by the emotional upheaval of a character like Cynthia (Brenda Blethyn) throughout the story. There aren't many moments when she's in a rational state of calm, instead she's reacting hysterically to all the dysfunctional family theatrics surrounding her. One has to admit though, learning that she's the white mother of a black daughter can be somewhat unnerving once it's ultimately revealed. The story took a step in the direction of how something like that could be but dropped the ball without clarifying the point. As the viewer we don't know and can only speculate. Whether Cynthia carried on with a black man after (other) daughter Roxanne's (Claire Rushbrook) absent father hit the road, or if she was assaulted and raped, one must come to your own conclusion. The shocking realization in Cynthia's mind is not made aware to the viewer.It might have helped the story if any of the principal players had an appealing look and personality, but then again, when dealing with real life, this is what one often winds up with. I had a tendency to keep my eye on background characters like Jane (Elizabeth Berrington) and Paul (Lee Ross) when things reached critical mass, and they wound up simply there with virtually no visual response. Personally, I would have been mortified and looking for a quick exit. The scene with Stuart (Ron Cook) seems rather odd now in retrospect since it didn't connect with anything else going on, except perhaps to convey class differences in the midst of a story dealing with a potential racial issue. When all was said and done, it appeared that the family dynamic resolved itself rather quickly, which for the sake of the film was necessary but hardly seemed realistic. It's difficult to imagine the trauma induced by suddenly becoming a bi-racial family would have been alleviated in such a short time span, but at least it ended with everyone still breathing. I'd be on the fence on recommending this one because it's not comfortable to watch, and if one is in a mood for entertainment, this will take you in a different direction.

It has been 7 years since I first started to watch the film since 2010. And I love it because of humour and empathy in it. The relationship between the characters are different. One by one : Maurice's wife who can not have a baby doesn't give love to her husband as much as Cynthia does; the fact that Hortense and Cynthia (her mother) meet in a Tense period but then forget the whole problems, thanks to a nice meeting as friends in a Restaurant; and finally the different neighbourhoods of the brother and his sister: Maurice and Cynthia. What I like the most is the fact that film is made by Mike Leigh with some humour. The Climax of the film is the BBQ scene in Maurice's house. The shooting lasted hours as Timothy said in the Liger Teather of Nîmes. Mike Leigh also highlighted the fact that the Film is based on everyday's life in an interview. Because of the method of Mike Leigh the Actors should have received an Oscar for their actor's fame and their improvisation. Timothy Spall said that the time of improvisation before the shooting was very long, and his peace of steak in his meal was terrible because of the numerous rehearsal, before the shooting of the scenes. In addiction I can say that Mike Leigh's sense of humour is the most pleasant thing in this film. I will finish with the sentence of Timothy Spall, on which he insisted a lot: " Don't be an actor because you want but be an actor because you need to be an actor."

In my humble opinion,I must say that this film is extraordinary. It has been directed by Mike Leigh, one of the most famous directors in the UK and in he world and with a quality cast. Actors like Timothy Spall who was awarded the gold palm for the best male actor in the Cannes film festival; by the way this film was awarded the gold palm too. I have seen this film a bunch of times and it still provides me the same emotions than the first time I saw it. The plot is perfect, the two sides of the story are developed in parallel. In an interview Mike Leigh said that in this film he wanted to put the "ordinary" things of life;like the difficult relationships in a family, the question of having babies or nor, adoption, etc... I must speak of my meeting with Timothy Spall, a few years ago, I was with the same friends and he answered our questions in a very friendly way. He said that in all the films he played under Mike Leigh's direction, actors must improvise and it is quite difficult because in one scene they had to spend hours and hours doing the same things again. He gave us a few tips and one impressed me:''If you first want to be an actor, you won't manage, you must head to be an actor to manage to become an actor'', it's not exactly what he said but it's something like that and it was said with emotion...it was fantastic! If you haven't seen this film yet, you must see it because in the future it will be a classic, it's sensitive but funny at times, it's perfect.

Life isn't perfect, people aren't perfect either, they are sometimes annoying. We might forget it and think our life is crap, with all the films that we can see at the cinema. Always perfect characters, brave, pretty, even when they cry, but nobody is pretty when they cry, etc... For once it is not the case in this film ant it makes me feel relieved. The characters are sometimes annoying, like Cynthia with her hysterical crises, but it makes them more human, realistic. A few weeks ago, I met Timothy Spall ( who plays Maurice) with my high school and he told us about the process of Mike Leigh's creation of characters . The actors worked a lot improvising the scenes to build up their character's personality traits. That is why their performances were so great, they perfectly embody their characters, it is impressive. This film is breath-taking by its realism, I've loved that. I've also liked Mike Leigh's way of filming, like the scene at Maurice's workplace at the beginning, when he tries to make is clients smile, that was well filmed. It is really an Oscar-worthy movie, I totally understand why it won a prize. But there were two scenes which annoyed me though. It was with Monica. The fact, that she is represented as the perfect housewife who cleans the room and cooks is very sexist I think. I mean, Maurice's and Monica's couple were too much a representation of the « traditional couple » to me. And the scene where she is angry because she has her period was so cliché ! Despite these scenes I've loved that film, and I highly recommend it, to people who want realism in movies. I really want more films like that one.