Nil by Mouth (film)

Nil by Mouth
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGary Oldman
Written byGary Oldman
Produced byGary Oldman
Douglas Urbanski
Luc Besson
Starring
CinematographyRon Fortunato
Edited byBrad Fuller
Music byEric Clapton
Production
companies
EuropaCorp
SE8 GROUP
Distributed by20th Century Fox
(United Kingdom and Ireland)
ARP Sélection
(France)
Release dates
  • 8 May 1997 (1997-05-08) (Cannes)
  • 10 October 1997 (1997-10-10) (UK)
  • 5 November 1997 (1997-11-05) (France)
Running time
128 minutes
CountriesUnited Kingdom
France
LanguageEnglish
Budget$9 million
Box office$266,130 (US only)

Nil by Mouth is a 1997 drama film written, produced and directed by Gary Oldman. His debut as a filmmaker, it portrays the life of a dysfunctional, working-class family in South East London, partly inspired by Oldman's own upbringing. It stars Ray Winstone, Kathy Burke, Charlie Creed-Miles, Laila Morse and Edna Doré. The score was composed by Eric Clapton.

The film was co-produced by Luc Besson's company EuropaCorp, and was distributed in the United Kingdom by 20th Century Fox under Fox Searchlight Pictures. It premiered at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, where Kathy Burke won the Best Actress Award. It was well-received by critics and was nominated for four BAFTA Awards, winning Best British Film and Best Original Screenplay.

In 1999, the film was ranked by the British Film Institute's on its list of Top 100 British films.