The early film and television work of Mike Leigh extended so-called “kitchen sink realism” into the Thatcher era, and no one examined the decimation of Britain’s working class in the 1980s with the rigor and humor of Leigh in Meantime, High Hopes, and Life is Sweet.

Leigh reached an artistic apotheosis of sorts in 1993 with Naked, and an breakthrough in the United States with his follow-up Secrets & Lies (1996).
In their weekend series Bleak But Never Boring—Life According to Mike Leigh, the American Cinematheque brings these defining films to the Aero for three double-feature programs.

Friday, April 5, at 7:30 pm.
Saturday, April 6, at 7:30 pm.
Sunday, April 7, at 7:30 pm.
Aero Theatre
1328 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica.

From top: Tim Roth in Meantime (1983); Marianne Jean-Baptiste and Timothy Spall in Secrets & Lies (1996); David Thewlis in Naked (1993); Ruth Sheen and Phil Davis in High Hopes (1988); Jane Horrocks in Life is Sweet(1990).
