I really like some of Mike Leigh's films - 'Nuts In May' and 'Abigail's Party' are classics. Sadly, although the themes of insightful portrayal into class-ridden British society are present, 'All Or Nothing' lacks any of the vitality or wit of the earlier films. As is well-documented, the film centres on the lives of three similar families living on a wretched council estate in London. The estate is a grim urban wasteland that could reasonably be mistaken for a run-down area of Poland. Their family relationships are broken and unhappy; their love lives abject failures; what work they do is soul-destroying and banal; sex is violent and dirty. Nothing ever relieves the misery, save the occasional wry laugh in the face of it all. And, as if the themes, setting and plot don't ram home the message hard enough, the film is soundtracked by a constant weeping of violins and woodwind. Be in no doubt: this film tells us to Pity The Working Classes. Yet this film is made by, marketed to, acted by and watched by middle class people. They only show this at arthouse cinemas. This film simply caricatures people in order to give the angst-ridden middle classes a chance to feel a little more authentic. Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols once sang of 'a cheap holiday in other people's misery'. That's what this film is.