Mike Leigh vs Terence Davies

It's the battle of the strange films about dysfunctional Brits!

Well, not really. Couple days back I discussed Mike Leigh's movies. spican said my description of his All Or Nothing reminded her of Terence Davies's Distant Voices, Still Lives, and asked if I thought they were similar filmmakers. I hadn't seen the later, so I rented it.

The two are similar in certain ways, yet come off quite differently, at least to me. They're both about dysfunctional British families living in desperation (Leigh's characters are disconnected and impoverished; Davies's are disconnected and living through war). Both films are non-linear; they present a series of scenes, ordinary conversations and observations -- some bleak, some hopeful. Distant Voices is also non-chronological.

However, the stylistic similarities are not as striking as you might think. Leigh's movies are intensely naturalistic: The actors improvise, the characters mumble, the camera keeps rolling almost as if it's shooting a documentary. Very fluid -- long takes. Distant Voices, on the other hand, feels quite deliberate and stylized, presenting carefully set-up images, arranging the characters like tableaus. It actually reminded me of an anime movie in that way... not a specific one, just generally. The dialogue is spare and tight -- these people only say what Davies wants them to.

Davies's characters sing almost constantly, much more than they speak. Music seems to be their only joy in life, yet it, too, can be manipulated by abuse, as when the father demands that his daughter sing through the bombing of London. (Leigh also uses music as a ray of hope, as with the karaoke scene in All Or Nothing, or when Johnny and Louise murmur a song together in Naked.)

I certainly appreciated what Distant Voices, Still Lives was trying to do, but I didn't enjoy it. I didn't feel like I got to know the characters -- I felt somewhat alienated by them, like watching through glass. Perhaps the carefully-arranged style and sepia-toned nostalgia helped construct that wall. In any case, I wasn't able to build the empathy that I have with the more humanistic creations of the actors that work with Leigh. The movie's only 85 minutes long, but I was looking at my watch long before then.

Does that answer your question at all, spican? I notice that you didn't actually say whether you liked Davies's work, just that I'd reminded you of it. What did you think of the film?


ETA: kaptainsnot, I'm looking for the movie you mentioned, too.

Also. I hereby declare iibnf to be a BNF, subject to all rights, privileges, and kerfuffles thereof. So ha!

Mike Leigh vs Terence Davies

It's the battle of the strange films about dysfunctional Brits!

Well, not really. Couple days back I discussed Mike Leigh's movies. spican said my description of his All Or Nothing reminded her of Terence Davies's Distant Voices, Still Lives, and asked if I thought they were similar filmmakers. I hadn't seen the later, so I rented it.

The two are similar in certain ways, yet come off quite differently, at least to me. They're both about dysfunctional British families living in desperation (Leigh's characters are disconnected and impoverished; Davies's are disconnected and living through war). Both films are non-linear; they present a series of scenes, ordinary conversations and observations -- some bleak, some hopeful. Distant Voices is also non-chronological.

However, the stylistic similarities are not as striking as you might think. Leigh's movies are intensely naturalistic: The actors improvise, the characters mumble, the camera keeps rolling almost as if it's shooting a documentary. Very fluid -- long takes. Distant Voices, on the other hand, feels quite deliberate and stylized, presenting carefully set-up images, arranging the characters like tableaus. It actually reminded me of an anime movie in that way... not a specific one, just generally. The dialogue is spare and tight -- these people only say what Davies wants them to.

Davies's characters sing almost constantly, much more than they speak. Music seems to be their only joy in life, yet it, too, can be manipulated by abuse, as when the father demands that his daughter sing through the bombing of London. (Leigh also uses music as a ray of hope, as with the karaoke scene in All Or Nothing, or when Johnny and Louise murmur a song together in Naked.)

I certainly appreciated what Distant Voices, Still Lives was trying to do, but I didn't enjoy it. I didn't feel like I got to know the characters -- I felt somewhat alienated by them, like watching through glass. Perhaps the carefully-arranged style and sepia-toned nostalgia helped construct that wall. In any case, I wasn't able to build the empathy that I have with the more humanistic creations of the actors that work with Leigh. The movie's only 85 minutes long, but I was looking at my watch long before then.

Does that answer your question at all, spican? I notice that you didn't actually say whether you liked Davies's work, just that I'd reminded you of it. What did you think of the film?


ETA: kaptainsnot, I'm looking for the movie you mentioned, too.

Also. I hereby declare iibnf to be a BNF, subject to all rights, privileges, and kerfuffles thereof. So ha!