|
|
But when she was asked to choose a particular film as her favourite to present in the Grand Classics series, Samantha was initially planning to go for something a little more camp than the gritty realism of Ladybird Ladybird.
"The first film I thought of was Flash Gordon," she told the audience at Notting Hill's Electric Cinema, as she presented a screening of the Ken Loach docu-drama.
No glorification
"It was really hard to decide on a movie but, in the end, I went for something that inspired me. For a film to be regarded as a classic, it needs to stand the test of time."
Ladybird Ladybird is a true-life British tale, centred on single mother Maggie, played by debutante actress Crissy Rock. Maggie battles with the social service department when they decide she is not fit to be a parent to her children.
Unlike Hollywood movies, the good and the bad are not clearly defined, and there's no glorification of the characters. While Maggie was clearly at fault when one of her children came to harm, there was no recognition from the social services that she had a stable family life when she fell pregnant to her new love.
'Tough film'
"This is my favourite film," said Morton. "Crissy's performance is why I am here. Ladybird Ladybird is a movie that inspired me, and at a time when I was disillusioned with acting, it was a performance that convinced me to carry on."
Ken Loach himself admits that the film is not overly accessible to most audiences. "It's quite a tough film to get through," he told the audience. "It's the first time I've seen it in nearly 10 years.
"Originally, a social worker wrote to me and described the final scene of the movie. She was so disturbed...So we met and I heard the whole story of Maggie. Rona Monroe wrote a script and then it was a case of finding the right people to bring it to life."
Deeply touched
Morton is clearly deeply touched by the film; one that she says is close to her for many personal reasons. But mostly, she says it's the quality of the acting that makes this particular film stand out.
"The performances Ken Loach gets from his cast is something you just don't see anywhere else. You don't see that quality in average movies."
Loach, however, elected not to go for established acting talent, preferring to scour the country for someone who suited the role, regardless of experience.
Sympathetic character
The director explained, "We looked around the country for a while, went to Newcastle and Glasgow. Eventually I spoke to Ricky Tomlinson, who put me in touch with Crissy Rock."
And, as for the pivotal role of Jorge, Loach had another plan. "Jorge was very hard to cast. We put an ad out for South American musicians, and we got a dozen or so Chileans in before we found Vladimir Vega."
The reason Jorge was such an important role was down to the fact that he played the most sympathetic character in the film.
Anguish
Morton added: "While we want to side with Maggie, it's really Jorge that we have genuine sympathy for."
Jorge being sympathetic was a tough role for Vega to pull off. "I'm nothing like that," he told the audience. "I explode like a rocket when I lose my temper so to remain calm under those situations isn't me at all."
Unlike Crissy Rock, that is, who had to explode on command to convey the feelings of pain and anguish Maggie feels each time her children are taken from her.
Moved
"Everyone knows how to cry and so on." explained Rock. "So I had to bring all those feelings out and so on. But I also had to put those feelings back.
"Because if you don't put them back, they don't go back. I had to feel everything that woman was feeling and think what she was thinking. Right down to knowing what she keeps in her pockets."
Samantha Morton paid tribute to the cast and director Loach, who were all visibly moved by her comments. "If it wasn't for people like Ken Loach," she explained, "then stories like this simply wouldn't get told."
Rich Phippen
Event Sponsors:
|
|
