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IN OUR LIFE AND TIMES
r casts for Stephen Poliakoff’s new pair of dramas with a powerful political backdrop
All-sta BBC
T he last time writer-direc- tor Stephen Poliakoff and cinematographer
Barry Ackroyd BSC col- laborated on a project it was the lush, poignant historical drama The
Lost Prince. This led to refreshingly high viewing figures for a serious drama and the more predictable slew of awards nominations.
Poliakoff and Ackroyd are back together again with two stand alone films linked by a common thread. One is set in the era of Thatcherism, the other at New Labour’s accession to power, and deal with the typical Poliakoffian themes of power, patronage and the unpredictability of relationships.
And the cast is impressive, fea- turing Damian Lewis, Jodhi May and Robert Lindsay in the first film, Friends And Crocodiles, with Bill Nighy, Miranda Richardson and Emily Blunt in the second, Gideon’s Daughter.
“I wanted these films to appear like quite personal stories,” Poliakoff explains, “the kind of thing a rather gossipy character such as Robert Lindsay’s character might know from moving around places of power. They aren’t state of the nation pieces, even if they do reflect that, because I tend to write slightly more impressionisti- cally, for want of a better word.”
Looking to the past to understand the present is nothing new, though Poliakoff does it with more skill and subtlety than most. “It tells us how we’ve got to where we are,” adds pro- ducer Nicolas Brown. “That’s always interesting because there are obvious- ly choices that you’re maybe not aware of at the time that have shaped the way we are now.”
Of course the technical challenge of recreating the recent past is a deceptively tricky one, more so than dressing a historical period that no
viewer will personal memories of. Choosing the 16mm Super F-250D 8662 for the exteriors and the 16mm Super F-500 8672 for the inte- riors, Barry Ackroyd set about his task with gusto.
“Films of that period had a kind of hard-edged lighting,” he explains, “though it’s not a look I go for. That would have been more common in the 80s because film stocks weren’t quite as good as they are now.
“I know when I use any 500 ASA stock it’s got a very fine grain, it’s going to look good, when we go to a digital grade we can keep all the detail that we want and get the con- trast that we want.
“So here it was really a matter of giving these films the look that Stephen and I developed in The Lost Prince. You keep your signature, but
also retain an honesty to the story.” That the urbane Poliakoff and grit- tier, more urban Ackroyd have forged
such a productive working relation- ship will surprise no-one who has fol- lowed the career of either man. Both men have a track record in work that is political, humane and displays a fas- cination with humanity in all its forms.
As the man who observed the work- ing relationship at first hand producer Nicolas Brown, who recently steered Ladies In Lavender to the cinema screen, could see that the rapport between two very different men was genuine.
“Barry is simply able to interpret what Stephen wants,” he adds, “but he also brings something of his own to it. Ideas and shots that remain within the bounds of Stephen’s style, yet at the same time adding something to it. They seem to kind of feed off each other very well.”
“Barry’s a fantastically creative man,” Poliakoff enthuses. “He’s been
Photos main: Director Stephen Poliakoff at work; inset top: Gina McKee with Daniel Williams in The Lost Prince; above l-r: various cast members Emily Blunt, Damian Lewis, Bill Nighy, Jodhi May, Miranda Richardson and Robert Lindsay
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