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Neighbours from the Block

Summary/Abstract: Concrete block housing estates are becoming extremely popular in contemporary films as a context of enclosed space for presenting people who for whatever reasons have become social outcasts. Mike Leigh’s All or Nothing depicts a scenario in which a block of council flats plays a central role. The characters are members of the lower social classes and, though they are not without merit, they are extremely nondescript. Set in a single rather dull context they do not differ particularly form one another. Blanka Brzozowska describes them as “life’s castaways who are slowly giving up to indifference and routine”. Interestingly, the camera portrays each character in a way which deprives them of a broader background. This is how Leigh expresses the fact that the concrete blocks are their only home, shelter and, at the same time, a prison beyond which the “castaways” could not live their lives. This is where they feel safe, although they are frustrated by boredom. They are afraid of taking the risk of initiative or ambition and they passively resign themselves to whatever life brings them. Initially, the housing estate seems to be synonymous with anonymity, but it turns out that the residents do know one another, but are not capable of developing any deeper bonds between themselves. The shared space creates a stifling artificial climate in which there is not enough air for real relationships to exist. Blanka Brzozowska notices that even the windows of the building display a certain dysfunction: they have lost contact with the outside world. “The eyes of the concrete buildings seem blind”, she says. Likewise, the people hiding behind them have ceased to function normally: they cannot open themselves to other people any longer. This superficial and dull existence is suddenly interrupted by a dramatic event. Will this change the characters’ lives for the better?

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