As a screenwriter, you learn NEVER to use dialog as your main device to introduce your characters. Don't TELL the audience who they are... SHOW them instead. Unfortunately, Gary Oldman did not learn this lesson. The first half hour of this movie introduces his South London characters through nothing but London lingo (fast, cockney-esque, and completely unintelligible to a non-Brit). I was extraordinarily disappointed with this film. But, if you hold on long enough, the action will pick up... but you may have to rewind during the first act (with the closed caption option selected) before you can really dig your teeth into what Gary Oldman is trying to show us in his brutally honest portrayal of how miserable life can be in South London (Oldman's favorite theme, it appears). Good Luck!
Review of Nil by Mouth
