Mike Leigh Says ‘Tender Loving Care’ Is “Almost Certainly” His Final Film: “I’m Now Somewhat Handicapped”

Mike Leigh is setting the record straight on “Tender Loving Care” being his final film, which is what he had briefly mentioned last month to IndieWire.

This time, speaking to Variety, Leigh is candid that “Tender Loving Care” is “almost certainly” his final film, but he resists framing it as a deliberate farewell. The reason is primarily physical, not creative. At 83, he says, “The truth is I’m somewhat handicapped.” Leigh has myositis, a muscle-wasting condition that has left him “unsteady on his feet.” It is this physical condition, combined with his age, that makes another film increasingly difficult.

He explains that even if another film were approved, “it wouldn’t get made for two years,” leaving him uncertain about “what state I’ll be in at 85, if I’m still here.” Crucially, he says that creatively, stopping is not the issue: “in terms of energy and ideas, it wouldn’t be a problem.” It is his body, and the practical demands of filmmaking, that make another film increasingly doubtful.

Leigh says the possibility of this being his last film was not something he consciously decided while making it. Asked whether there was a particular moment when he realized it could be his final film, he answers simply: “I don’t, honestly. It’s gradually grown.”

He also admits that he has mixed feelings about stopping. “I fluctuate,” he says. One moment he thinks, “Great. I don’t have to worry about that again.” The next, he remembers that “Making films is a joyous thing, a gas — I love it.” As he puts it, “not doing it again is frustrating. But, like life, you move on.”

Leigh is a cinematic treasure, in my view, the greatest British director of the last 40 years. He will be sorely missed. The number of great films he’s delivered since the ’80s is impressive enough. He’s one of the few directors to have won both the Golden Lion and the Palme d’Or, and if you have yet to catch up with his filmography, you’re in for a treat.

I recently listed the indisputable Leigh films—the ones I’ve kept thinking about all these years. You have to start with his Palme d’Or-winning “Secrets & Lies” and the indescribable “Naked.” His other career highlights include “Life Is Sweet,” “Another Year,” “Happy-Go-Lucky,” “All or Nothing,” “Topsy-Turvy,” and, more recently, “Hard Truths.”

“Tender Loving Care” is set for release on December 4 from Bleecker Street, following its fall festival run at Telluride, TIFF, and NYFF.