Bleak Moments movie storyline. Shrewdly observed and brilliantly understated, “Bleak Moments” is a rare early work from Academy Award nominated British filmmaker Mike Leigh (“Secrets and Lies”, “Naked”). Brimming with the edgy realism and quirky wit Leigh has become known for, “Bleak Moments” follows Sylvia (Anne Raitt), a bored, emotionally numb secretary, as she desperately seeks release from the pressures of caring for her 29yearold mentally ill sister (Sarah Stephenson).
Sylvia seeks distraction first in an awkward flirtation with a quiet schoolteacher (Eric Allan) and then with the tenant living in her garage, a disheveled, guitar – playing hippie (Mike Bradwell) who seems to offer escape from the bleak moments of her life. Like eavesdropping on the most intimate episodes in a stranger’s life, Bleak Moments is an authentic, poignant and often hilarious portrait of the denizens of London’s dreary row houses and the fleeting but significant moments which define our lives.
Bleak Moments is a 1971 British film, the first film of Mike Leigh. It began as a 75-minute stage play in March 1970 at the Open Space Theatre. Leigh and Les Blair had formed their own company, Autumn Productions, and Leigh wanted to make a film of Bleak Moments. He was able to realise that desire when Albert Finney and Michael Medwin’s Memorial Films, which had recently made If…. and was about to produce Gumshoe, “delivered the main financial backing, as well as unused spare bits of film rolls.”
Bleak Moments (1972)
Directed by: Mike Leigh
Starring: Anne Raitt, Sarah Stephenson, Eric Allan, Liz Smith, Joolia Cappleman, Mike Bradwell, Donald Sumpter, Linda Beckett, Christopher Martin, Sandra Bolton, Stephen Churchett
Screenplay by: Mike Leigh
Cinematography by: Bahram Manocheri
Film Editing by: Les Blair
Art Direction by: Richard Rambaut
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Contemporary Films
Release Date: May 25, 1972 (United Kingdom)
Views: 161