Bleak Moments (1972) on Netflix
Sylvia, a secretary, looks after her sister Hilda, who needs a great deal of care. Peter, a teacher, is Sylvia's boyfriend and is uneasy with her.
- Netflix3.5/5
- IMDb6.9/101,993 votes
- Rotten TomatoesNot available
Trailer
Plot summary
Sylvia works as a secretary and shares a quiet suburban home with her sister Hilda, who is twenty-nine, does not speak, and needs constant care. The two keep to themselves, and their awkwardness with other people leaves them cut off from the community around them. Sylvia keeps a bottle of sherry for herself. Peter, a teacher and Sylvia's boyfriend, is aloof and uneasy in her company. Pat, a workmate, knits jerseys and eats Maltesers, and she is upset when her mother, with visitors in the house, takes out her false teeth. Norman, a neighbor, sits with his guitar and plays drug songs one after another.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Bleak Moments (1972)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Everyone who worked on Bleak Moments, including the actors, was paid £20 a week, which is how Mike Leigh made the film for £18,500. The British Film Institute's contribution of £100 was the minimum its rules allowed, and it made the film possible.
- After Bleak Moments, Mike Leigh did not make another theatrical feature film until 1988; in 1977 he said there was no film industry in Britain and that serious directors had to work in television, and he made several films for television in the meantime.
