The Films of Mike Leigh

by Ray Carney , Leonard Quart

• ISBN13: 9780521480437
• ISBN10: 0521480434
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-06-19
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

The Films of Mike Leigh is the first critical study of one of the most important and eccentric directors of British independent filmmaking. Although active since 1971, Leigh has only come to the attention of an international audience in the 1990s through films such as Secrets and Lies, and Career Girls. The authors examine Leigh's working method and films in the intellectual and social contexts in which they were created. All of Leigh's major box office successes are analyzed, interpreted, and shown to be among the finest examples of cinema.

Table of Contents

Editorial Note	x
Acknowledgments	xi
Biographical and Cultural Introduction	1	(13)
Stylistic Introduction: Living beyond Consciousness	14	(17)
Fictitious Selves: Bleak Moments	31	(20)
Personal Freezing and Stylistic Melting: Hard Labour	51	(14)
Existence without Essences: The Kiss of Death	65	(15)
Defeating Systems of Knowing: Nuts in May	80	(16)
Losing Track of Who You Are: Abigail's Party	96	(20)
We Are the Hollow Men: Who's Who	116	(14)
Inhabiting Otherness: Grown-Ups	130	(16)
Manufactured Emotions: Home Sweet Home	146	(17)
Challenging Easy Understandings: Meantime	163	(16)
Holding Experience Loosely: High Hopes	179	(24)
Circulation Is the Law of Life: Life Is Sweet	203	(24)
Desperate Lives: Naked	227	(12)
Epilogue: The Feel of Life	239	(8)
Notes	247	(32)
Filmography	279	(4)
Bibliography	283	(3)
Index	286