Dean is a charming working -
class lout while Cindy, a college grad, works in a doctor's office and pines for a better life.
The apocalyptic, end - of - the - millennium rage of Thewlis's Johnny — an articulate, grungy working -
class lout on the dole who abuses women and spews negativity — registers at times as Leigh's commentary on the bleak harvest of Thatcherism.