Blu-ray Review: Mike Leigh Notches Another Criterion with ‘Life is Sweet’

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CHICAGO – There have been several stellar editions of Mike Leigh films released under The Criterion Collection banner, including “Topsy-Turvy” and “Naked.” The latest is one of our best working directors more underappreciated films, “Life is Sweet,” a clever little slice-of-humanity that doesn’t have the drama of “Vera Drake” or “Secrets & Lies” and so has always been a bit under the radar when discussing Leigh’s work. I’m truly happy the Criterion Collection has ventured to change that oversight.

Rating: 4.0/5.0

“Life is Sweet” was actually my introduction to the world of Mike Leigh. It was his third film but I don’t believe the first two had been widely released as this is the one that really started my interest in Leigh, which exploded with “Naked” and “Secrets & Lies” as his next two works in the ’90s. “Life is Sweet” may not be as dramatic as some expect from Leigh now but it captures his unique approach to filmmaking in the way it feels both completely genuine and cinematic at the same time. Leigh notoriously works in a unique way, rehearsing and improvising for weeks to find his story within his work. The result is a kind of cinema that feels more truthful than most of Leigh’s contemporaries and there’s an honesty in “Life is Sweet” that still resonates 23 years later. It’s a blessing for movie fans that the often-quiet Leigh came forward for a commentary and that his director of photography handled the 2K digital film transfer. This is a release that won’t get the attention of ones like “3:10 to Yuma” last month or “The Devil’s Backbone” next month but it could be better than both.

Life is Sweet was released on Blu-ray on May 28, 2013
Photo credit: Courtesy of the Criterion Collection

Synopsis:
This invigorating film from Mike Leigh was his first international sensation. Melancholy and funny by turns, it is an intimate portrait of a working class family in a suburb just north of London - an irrepressible mum and dad (Alison Steadman and Jim Broadbent) and their night-and-day twins, a bookish good girl and a troubled, ill-tempered layabout (Claire Skinner and Jane Horrocks). Leigh and his typically brilliant cast create, with extraordinary sensitivity and craft a vivid, lived-in story of ordinary existence, in which even modest dreams - such as the father’s desire to open a food truck - carry enormous weight.

Special Features:
o New Audio Commentary Featuring Director Mike Leigh
o Audio Recording Of A 1991 Interview With Leigh At The National Film theatre in London
o Five Short Films Written and Directed by Leigh for the Proposed Television Series Five-Minute Films, With A New Audio Introduction By Leigh
o Booklet Featuring An Essay By Critic David Sterritt

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com