It’s always extra frustrating when a biopic falls short, especially if its subject is as compelling as the relationship between two brilliant iconoclasts like Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West.
It’s a shame, too, that many in the audience will get their introduction to Sackville-West via “Vita and Virginia.” In reality, she was an extraordinarily complicated, trailblazing bisexual writer who lived on her own terms regardless of the price to herself or others in her orbit. Here, she comes across as a spoiled and superficial narcissist who is merely, as one character intones amid the film’s plethora of plummy accents, “rahthah hard work.”
As played by Gemma Arterton (also an executive producer), Vita is pure seductress: gorgeous and tempestuous and shockingly modern even by the most decadent standards of 1927. She’s irresistible, in other words, for the contemplative, always-questing Virginia. But Virginia’s Bloomsbury set isn’t as easily swayed.
It’s a shame, too, that many in the audience will get their introduction to Sackville-West via “Vita and Virginia.” In reality, she was an extraordinarily complicated, trailblazing bisexual writer who lived on her own terms regardless of the price to herself or others in her orbit. Here, she comes across as a spoiled and superficial narcissist who is merely, as one character intones amid the film’s plethora of plummy accents, “rahthah hard work.”
As played by Gemma Arterton (also an executive producer), Vita is pure seductress: gorgeous and tempestuous and shockingly modern even by the most decadent standards of 1927. She’s irresistible, in other words, for the contemplative, always-questing Virginia. But Virginia’s Bloomsbury set isn’t as easily swayed.
- 8/22/2019
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
Stars: Maxine Peake, Paddy Considine, Stephen Graham, Alun Armstrong, Christine Bottomley, Kevin Eldon, Tony Pitts, Diane Morgan, Hannah Walters, Hebe Beardsall, John Bishop, Lindsey Coulson, Adam Gillen, Dominic Brunt, Vic Reeves | Written by Tony Pitts | Directed by Adrian Shergold
A comedian uses her troubled past as material for her stand-up routine, trying to rise up through the comedy circuit by playing Northern England’s working men’s clubs.
Maxine Peake, famed British theatre actress formulates what might just be her greatest performance in the character of Funny Cow. The lead role in the same-titled feature drama directed by Adrian Shergold. Funny Cow is an unsettling harrowing dramatic embodiment the explores the satirical tale of life itself. The fragmented and ironic moments of pain and pleasure threaded into a caricature of sorts that play out in a vicious fiery blanket of love and fear.
The maligned experiences of terror Peakes’ Funny...
A comedian uses her troubled past as material for her stand-up routine, trying to rise up through the comedy circuit by playing Northern England’s working men’s clubs.
Maxine Peake, famed British theatre actress formulates what might just be her greatest performance in the character of Funny Cow. The lead role in the same-titled feature drama directed by Adrian Shergold. Funny Cow is an unsettling harrowing dramatic embodiment the explores the satirical tale of life itself. The fragmented and ironic moments of pain and pleasure threaded into a caricature of sorts that play out in a vicious fiery blanket of love and fear.
The maligned experiences of terror Peakes’ Funny...
- 8/28/2018
- by Jak-Luke Sharp
- Nerdly
Top of the morning to you all. ‘Tis the week when everyone becomes Irish, so why not join in while indulging in a few alternative London events. Ah go on, will you be having a pint or seven of the black? Mozart and Salieri revealed.The actors behind the National’s hot new production of ‘Amadeus’ reveal all on March 15 March. Adam Gillen and Lucian Msamati will reflect on the challenges of Peter Shaffer’s most well-known play. (Tickets: £7) Become Irish for the day.The big event of the weekend is the London St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 18. From Piccadilly to Whitehall, expect Irish dancing, pageantry, and bright green floats. Grab a Guinness and get down there. (Free) Have a gamble on the gee gees.The Cheltenham Gold Cup is one of the biggest races of the year. If you can’t make it to the race course,...
- 3/12/2018
- backstage.com
Normal 0 false false false En-gb X-none X-none In 1990's England three friends embark on a crazy night out akin to Human Traffic. Narrator, Jack (Jamie Blackley, Misfits), confesses he hates "rioters... politicians... archive footage... mobs... skin heads... goths... films where people talk to the camera..” as a montage of archive footage is shown, immediately suggesting Director/Writer, Justin Edgar (Large) is trying to be clever in his second feature, We Are The Freaks.
Jack explicitly states “This isn't a teen movie" but setting and content don't quite match this claim. Jack and pals are immature pre-university age, either miserably failing, arrogantly choosing to opt out or expectantly awaiting University acceptance letters; Jack plans to study to be a writer, Parsons (Mike Bailey, Skins) is content coasting and Chunks (Sean Teale, Skins) is happy living off the allowances his guilt-ridden extremely rich divorced parents dole out.
Set in Birmingham, opening with...
Jack explicitly states “This isn't a teen movie" but setting and content don't quite match this claim. Jack and pals are immature pre-university age, either miserably failing, arrogantly choosing to opt out or expectantly awaiting University acceptance letters; Jack plans to study to be a writer, Parsons (Mike Bailey, Skins) is content coasting and Chunks (Sean Teale, Skins) is happy living off the allowances his guilt-ridden extremely rich divorced parents dole out.
Set in Birmingham, opening with...
- 5/29/2014
- Shadowlocked
To mark the release of We Are The Freaks on 5th May, we’ve been given 5 copies to give away on DVD.
We Are The Freaks is a surreal and anarchic anti-teen movie about three misfits on a disastrous night out. It is set against the social and political turmoil of 1990’s Thatcher’s England, over the course of one evening they come to terms with being outsiders and learn to love failure and embrace being a freak. Jack (Jamie Blackley – Snow White and the Huntsman) wants to escape his boring bank job and aspires to be a writer but is waiting to hear news about the grant he needs in order to take up his place at University. Parsons (Mike Bailey – Skins) is a wimp with a dangerously unhealthy sexual fixation on Margaret Thatcher. He finds life guidance from the deranged but principled hardman Killer Colin (Michael Smiley – Kill List). Unlike Jack,...
We Are The Freaks is a surreal and anarchic anti-teen movie about three misfits on a disastrous night out. It is set against the social and political turmoil of 1990’s Thatcher’s England, over the course of one evening they come to terms with being outsiders and learn to love failure and embrace being a freak. Jack (Jamie Blackley – Snow White and the Huntsman) wants to escape his boring bank job and aspires to be a writer but is waiting to hear news about the grant he needs in order to take up his place at University. Parsons (Mike Bailey – Skins) is a wimp with a dangerously unhealthy sexual fixation on Margaret Thatcher. He finds life guidance from the deranged but principled hardman Killer Colin (Michael Smiley – Kill List). Unlike Jack,...
- 5/13/2014
- by Competitions
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Stars: Jamie Blackley, Sean Teale , Michael Smiley, Danielle Bux | Written and Directed by Justin Edgar
Review by Andrew MacArthur of Cinehouse
Justin Edgar’s We Are the Freaks sets out to challenge the conventions of the traditional teen-comedy, and it mostly does so with a cheeky sense of humour and fond nostalgia for the nineties.
We Are the Freaks follows working class Jack (Blackley) who dreams of going to university yet struggles to get funding. Jack’s best-friend Chunks (Teale) who dubs himself a “textbook underachiever” suggests a night-out that begins with gate crashing a party.
The setting of the early 1990s provides an exciting twist on the traditional teen comedy, allowing Edgar to pack his film with a soundtrack including the likes of New Order and The Happy Mondays which certainly adds a distinct and likeable character to the film. This era also means that Edgar can pack his...
Review by Andrew MacArthur of Cinehouse
Justin Edgar’s We Are the Freaks sets out to challenge the conventions of the traditional teen-comedy, and it mostly does so with a cheeky sense of humour and fond nostalgia for the nineties.
We Are the Freaks follows working class Jack (Blackley) who dreams of going to university yet struggles to get funding. Jack’s best-friend Chunks (Teale) who dubs himself a “textbook underachiever” suggests a night-out that begins with gate crashing a party.
The setting of the early 1990s provides an exciting twist on the traditional teen comedy, allowing Edgar to pack his film with a soundtrack including the likes of New Order and The Happy Mondays which certainly adds a distinct and likeable character to the film. This era also means that Edgar can pack his...
- 6/28/2013
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
Screenterrier spotted We Are The Freaks, a new teen comedy directed by Justin Edgar and produced by Alex Usborne at 104 Films back in March last year when it started filming.
Starring two Skins alumni, Mike Bailey (represented by Waring and McKenna) and Sean Teale (also Waring and McKenna), alongside fast-rising star Jamie Blackley (represented by United Agents).
The cast also includes Michael Smiley, Rosamund Hanson, and Adam Gillen, and the film is set to premiere at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Check out the trailer below!
Starring two Skins alumni, Mike Bailey (represented by Waring and McKenna) and Sean Teale (also Waring and McKenna), alongside fast-rising star Jamie Blackley (represented by United Agents).
The cast also includes Michael Smiley, Rosamund Hanson, and Adam Gillen, and the film is set to premiere at this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Check out the trailer below!
- 6/18/2013
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
Exclusive: Justin Edgar’s teen comedy stars Michael Smiley and Jamie Blackley. Watch the first trailer here.
104 Films’ We Are The Freaks has been chosen as the opening film of the Bornshorts film festival in Denmark, which runs September 12-14.
Written and directed by Justin Edgar, the anarchic “anti-teen comedy” about three misfits on a disastrous night out, is set against the social and political turmoil of 1990.
Rosamund Hanson, Mike Bailey, Sean Teale, Adam Gillen, Hera Hilmar and Amber Anderson also star.
Profile: Justin Edgar and Alex Usborne, 104 Films
Metrodome will release the film in the UK later this year, following its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and market premiere at Luff.
The film is produced by Alex Usborne and Justin Edgar for their UK production company 104 Films, with Gareth Jones and Colin Pons as executive producers. Metfilm Post are co-financiers.
Edgar said: “I am delighted that We Are The Freaks has been invited...
104 Films’ We Are The Freaks has been chosen as the opening film of the Bornshorts film festival in Denmark, which runs September 12-14.
Written and directed by Justin Edgar, the anarchic “anti-teen comedy” about three misfits on a disastrous night out, is set against the social and political turmoil of 1990.
Rosamund Hanson, Mike Bailey, Sean Teale, Adam Gillen, Hera Hilmar and Amber Anderson also star.
Profile: Justin Edgar and Alex Usborne, 104 Films
Metrodome will release the film in the UK later this year, following its world premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and market premiere at Luff.
The film is produced by Alex Usborne and Justin Edgar for their UK production company 104 Films, with Gareth Jones and Colin Pons as executive producers. Metfilm Post are co-financiers.
Edgar said: “I am delighted that We Are The Freaks has been invited...
- 6/18/2013
- by sarah.cooper@screendaily.com (Sarah Cooper)
- ScreenDaily
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Prisoners Wives continues its run on BBC One with two more episodes to add to the lingering minds of the British nation. Will Kim be able to clear her husband’s name? Can Aisling mend the relationship with her troublesome father? What about Harriet and the situation with her new romance and tearaway son? And of course, what about Francesca’s ever downward spiral into the underworld?
Episode Two and Three really take these stories in different directions, and in many ways, test the morals of the characters and if the path they are heading is the right one. I resume the praise of the acting, which remains top notch throughout the episodes, as well as the carefully crafted storytelling that is both realistic and eventful.
The acting remains high as ever, as each female lead is thrown in new drastic situations that test their morals and beliefs.
Prisoners Wives continues its run on BBC One with two more episodes to add to the lingering minds of the British nation. Will Kim be able to clear her husband’s name? Can Aisling mend the relationship with her troublesome father? What about Harriet and the situation with her new romance and tearaway son? And of course, what about Francesca’s ever downward spiral into the underworld?
Episode Two and Three really take these stories in different directions, and in many ways, test the morals of the characters and if the path they are heading is the right one. I resume the praise of the acting, which remains top notch throughout the episodes, as well as the carefully crafted storytelling that is both realistic and eventful.
The acting remains high as ever, as each female lead is thrown in new drastic situations that test their morals and beliefs.
- 4/4/2013
- by Connor Macgregor
- Obsessed with Film
Shooting started on March 5th in Birmingham on teen comedy We Are The Freaks, directed by Justin Edgar and produced by Alex Usborne at 104 Films.
The cast includes two Skins alumni, 23 year old Mike Bailey from Bristol who played Sid in series 1 and 2.
And 19 year old Sean Teale (represented by Waring and McKenna) who stars as Nick in the latest incarnation of Skins characters currently showing on E4.
The young cast also includes 22 year old Rosamund Hanson (represented by Curtis Brown), star of This is England, and 20 year old Jamie Blackley (represented by United Agents), who has just been cast in 300: Battle of Artemisia.
Amber Anderson
Newcomer 20 year old model Amber Anderson (represented by Curtis Brown) also stars, alongside Adam Gillen (represented by Independent Talent) who was recently seen as Brian in Fresh Meat, and Icelandic actress Hera Hilmar (represented by Tavistock Wood), who recently graduated from Lamda.
The...
The cast includes two Skins alumni, 23 year old Mike Bailey from Bristol who played Sid in series 1 and 2.
And 19 year old Sean Teale (represented by Waring and McKenna) who stars as Nick in the latest incarnation of Skins characters currently showing on E4.
The young cast also includes 22 year old Rosamund Hanson (represented by Curtis Brown), star of This is England, and 20 year old Jamie Blackley (represented by United Agents), who has just been cast in 300: Battle of Artemisia.
Amber Anderson
Newcomer 20 year old model Amber Anderson (represented by Curtis Brown) also stars, alongside Adam Gillen (represented by Independent Talent) who was recently seen as Brian in Fresh Meat, and Icelandic actress Hera Hilmar (represented by Tavistock Wood), who recently graduated from Lamda.
The...
- 3/10/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (ScreenTerrier)
- ScreenTerrier
Prisoners' Wives
N Conrad
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Episode five of Prisoners’ Wives was the most dramatic of the season thus far. The female quartet had to contend with feelings of guilt, shame, failure and loneliness while their fellows were less successful at controlling their own feelings of anger, jealousy, betrayal and lust. Once again, Pippa Haywood was very strong in her scenes with her troubled son Gavin (Adam Gillen). The duo sometimes get lost among the bigger name actors but their volatile mother-son relationship has become one of the linchpins of Prisoners’ Wives.
With one episode left, Gemma (Emma Rigby) is in mortal danger as Jonas Armstrong has realized that she is the snitch. Can she rely on to DS Hunter (Andrew Tiernan) to keep her safe from the deranged Andy (Anthony Flanagan)? More to the point...
N Conrad
Click here to friend Best British TV on Facebook or here to follow us on Twitter.
Episode five of Prisoners’ Wives was the most dramatic of the season thus far. The female quartet had to contend with feelings of guilt, shame, failure and loneliness while their fellows were less successful at controlling their own feelings of anger, jealousy, betrayal and lust. Once again, Pippa Haywood was very strong in her scenes with her troubled son Gavin (Adam Gillen). The duo sometimes get lost among the bigger name actors but their volatile mother-son relationship has become one of the linchpins of Prisoners’ Wives.
With one episode left, Gemma (Emma Rigby) is in mortal danger as Jonas Armstrong has realized that she is the snitch. Can she rely on to DS Hunter (Andrew Tiernan) to keep her safe from the deranged Andy (Anthony Flanagan)? More to the point...
- 2/29/2012
- by admin
The cast of Benidorm have praised their series four guests stars Bananarama. Tony Maudsley, Adam Gillen and Shelley Longworth, who have all joined the Derren Litten comedy for the latest run, said that they had "great fun" with the '80s girlband, who cameo in the second half of the series.
"Bananarama were great fun! I loved them. They were fantastic," Gillen told Digital Spy. "They were brilliant girls - really glamorous and really, really funny. I didn't know what to expect, but they weren't prissy or self-conscious at all." Longworth commented: (more)...
"Bananarama were great fun! I loved them. They were fantastic," Gillen told Digital Spy. "They were brilliant girls - really glamorous and really, really funny. I didn't know what to expect, but they weren't prissy or self-conscious at all." Longworth commented: (more)...
- 2/25/2011
- by By Alex Fletcher
- Digital Spy
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