A very good movie

I already saw this movie, in fact, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released, but, since it was a while back and since it was available on Netflix, I thought I might as well check it out again. First of all, even though, by now, I have managed to watch most of the movies directed by Mike Leigh, even though I admire his work, I have actually never been a huge fan. On the other hand, I did watch again 'Secrets & Lies' not so long ago and I do have to admit that the damned thing was actually quite brilliant and completely deserves its stellar reputation after all. However, with this movie, it did hit me right away though, even the first time around. The funny thing is that, the damned thing pretty much looked like a typical Mike Leigh feature as it was taking place  in a very grim and realistic social environment in England. In fact, it might be Mike Leigh's bleakest movie so far (On the other hand, 'Naked' might be even more hardcore but I haven't seen it in a very long time). Anyway, even  though the whole thing was quite heartbreaking, it was also spellbinding to watch and I was really fascinated by all these characters. I thought that Timothy Spall was also really strong in this movie but the whole cast did a great job. While rewatching this movie, I was also quite surprised to see some very young James Corden and Sally Hawkins both at the beginning of their respective careers. I was especially amazed by Corden who pretty much gave here his best performance ever. Anyway, to conclude, I really loved the damned thing and I think it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre or if you are interested in Mike Leigh’s work.