The 1997 movie that changed Ray Winstone’s life for good: “Without a shadow of a doubt”
A breakthrough role, a star-making performance, and a career-changing part don’t have to be mutually exclusive, with Ray Winstone finding that out first-hand when the latter came his way almost two decades into his career.
The actor put himself on the map very early after being nominated for ‘Best Newcomer’ at the Baftas for his feature debut in 1979 drama That Summer, which he immediately followed with a headline-grabbing tour-de-force in Alan Parker’s Scum, with the controversy doing wonders for his reputation.
Winstone’s third film credit came in cult favourite Quadrophenia, so he was well and truly off to the races. After three high-profile and well-received turns in a row, the work was steady from that point on, but it would be a long time before a character fell into his lap that ended up breathing new life into the way he was viewed within the industry.
To put things into perspective, by the time Winstone played Raymond in writer, director, and producer Gary Oldman’s Nil by Mouth, he’d already popped up in six movies and more than 20 TV shows, so he was far from being an unknown quantity. And yet, by delivering what arguably remains the best work of his career, doors that had previously been locked shot were magically kicked wide open.
“Without a shadow of a doubt,” Winstone said to iNews on whether or not Nil by Mouth was the exact moment he turned a professional corner. “I was getting calls from people – before we even finished the film – who wouldn’t let me in the door before that. It’s funny how that goes.”
Perhaps the greatest part of the performance, and what truly set Winstone’s career up following the picture, was that he delivered the role of Raymond with a vulnerability that somehow didn’t change the brutality of the character. This nuance has become Winstone’s greatest asset. In a world of tough guys, he showed himself to be gentle, too. Volatile, abusive and severely damaged, Winstone’s villain remained menacing but also human.
There is an emotional honesty at the centre of the movie, and Winstone holds that space with aplomb. It is the kind of showing that critics simply adore, and it allowed Winstone a chance to operate outside of the cockney thug roles that had littered his career thus far. It is a demanding movie, but it allowed Winstone to shine like no other film ever had.
As well as putting him in the orbit of Oldman – who Winstone called the best director he’d ever worked with – Nil by Mouth was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, won a pair of Baftas for ‘Best British Film’ and ‘Best Original Screenplay’, and landed the leading man on the shortlist for ‘Best Actor’.
Uncompromising, unflinching, foul-mouthed, and unrelentingly bleak at points, Nil by Mouth was a perfect showcase for not only Winstone’s particular brand of rough-and-ready charisma and imposing screen presence, but Oldman’s skills as a director that he’s never felt inclined to dust off since.
In the aftermath of the film, Winstone was getting more offers than ever by producers and filmmakers who’d never considered working with him before, with Tim Roth’s The War Zone and Jonathan Glazer’s Sexy Beast presenting him with further meaty roles he could really sink his teeth into, which eventually segued into a Hollywood debut in Anthony Minghella’s awards-baiting Hollywood epic Cold Mountain.
Would he have gotten there without Nil by Mouth? Maybe, maybe not, but the leg-up certainly helped him on his way.
