Mike Leigh's violent and disturbing look at the milieu inhabited by London's homeless. David Thewlis is the motor-mouthed protagonist; bitter, cynical and on the run from Manchester after raping a woman. He arrives in London, shacking up with his ex-girlfriend and her gothic flatmate, before drifting onto the streets - undergoing a series of encounters which convince him of the spiritual emptiness of modern life. As with many of Leigh's films, the dialogue was often improvised by the cast.