Plot
On the outskirts of Birmingham and the margins of society the Billingham family perform extreme rituals and break social taboos as they muddle through a life decided by factors beyond their control. At times shocking and laced with an unsettling humor, three episodes unfold as a powerful evocation of the experience of growing up in a Black Country council flat.
Cast
as Ray
as Liz
as Older Ray
as Older Liz
as Lol
as Will
as Sid
as Jason
as Hilda
as Richard (Aged 10)
Gallery
Reviews
It may be dour, but the film is also vital, edgy and progressive. It also must be noted that it’s very funny at times, in a brutal human comedy sort of way ('Good Thing' by Fine Young Cannibals plays over the end credits). To be put off by the uncomfortable themes, unglamorous urban location and prevailing sense of gloom that permeates ‘Ray & Liz’ would be a big mistake. This drama crackles with …
I think part of my problem with this is that having grown up in a room and kitchen in a 1970s Glasgow tenement where we bathed in the sink, once a week, in water freshly boiled from the kettle atop the metred gas stove, I find these “northern” (English) tales of woe and misfortune all a bit melodramatic. Compared to previous generations, these Brummies don’t know they are born as they live in hou…