Les Blair

Blair's first feature work was as editor of "Bleak Moments" (1971), one of director Mike Leigh's earliest projects and his directorial style shows Leigh's fingerprints. Blair's "Number One" (1984) starred Leigh's wife and cast regular Alison Steadman as a sweet pool hall tart. Like Leigh, Blair uses improvisation and characters who are rough around the edges, the crucial difference being that Blair seems to lean toward "poking fun" at his basically appealing characters while Leigh leans toward sharper and more imaginative social commentary.