Mike Leigh OBE (20 February 1943) is a British film and theatre director. He also writes most of the things he directs, if "writes" is the word: his preferred process is start with a basic concept and then expand it through a lengthy period of improvisation and rehearsal in collaboration with the actors.
Works by Mike Leigh with their own pages include:
- Naked (1993)
- Secrets & Lies (1996)
- Topsy-Turvy (1999)
- Vera Drake (2004)
- Happy-Go-Lucky (2008)
- Another Year (2010)
- Mr. Turner (2014)
Tropes Associated with Mike Leigh Work
- Signature Style: His purpose with his movies is to "capture reality and present "emotional, subjective, intuitive, instinctive, and vulnerable films".
- Slice of Life: Many of his films are rather slow-moving and decide to capture a moment of life with these characters rather than tell a story in a traditional way.
- Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Happy-Go-Lucky appears to be an "anti-miserableist" film and his other films are presented with a fair amount of heart and human emotion.
- Throw It In!: Basically how he and his actors make their films.
- Production Posse: He frequently works with Lesley Manville and Timothy Spall.
