Terence Davies admits funny aspirations at The Deep Blue Sea Press Conference
The Deep Blue Sea proved to be a more than apt closing film at the BFI London Film Festival, and director Terence Davies and star Tom Hiddleston were in attendance at the films press conference, discussing the passionate romantic drama.
The film, out in cinemas on November 25, is Davies first feature film for over ten years, and is an adaptation of Terence Rattigan’s famous play of the same name. The prominent director, alongside a very promising new talent, spoke of the meaning of love, working with leading star Rachel Weisz, whilst Davies also discusses his aversion for those without humour.
“It’s strange because if totally honest, before 2010 I had only made one feature film in my entire life and then I made 5 in the space of 12 months, all very different but very close together and this was the last in that line, but no means the least at all,” said Hiddleston.
“I think his was the most poetic material that I had engaged in and unquestionably the most serious and mature and the process of shooting this film I absolutely adored.”
He also had only positive words for the brilliant Weisz, who played Hester, his on-screen partner.
“I loved working with Rachel, she is completely fearless and without vanity in the way that she approaches her work, she is capable of playing in every extremity of her range, whether that’s anger or sadness or vulnerability or joy and as a woman she is incredibly game and warm and fun and that was amazing,” he finished.
Meanwhile, Davies spoke of love and all of its complexities – a prominent element to the feature.
“Love is the most exclusively human emotion because of what we do for it,” Davies said.
“Why is it that we look at somebody - and that doesn’t necessarily even have to be sexual, but you can look at someone and think I love them as a person and I would lay my life down for them, and then just do it?
“My mother was like that and I would do anything for her, and she for me. But when it’s that powerful it can have a destructive nature, especially possessiveness,” he continued.
“What moved me more than anything else is by showing that from Hester’s point of view, she comes to know real love and real love is to say to the person you love most in the world if your better off without me then go, and that’s such an act of courage.”
The film is set in post-war Britain of the 1950’s, and Davies has admitted in struggling to write contemporary features.
“I did write a contemporary comedy but I couldn’t get the money for it. If you can’t get the money then you can’t do it but would be nice to do something modern but the difficulty is, is what the theme and story should be I don’t know,” he said.
“I feel alienated from the modern world. Technology I’m completely hopefully with and I can only make one kind of telephone call on my mobile. If you leave a message I won’t get it for three years its ridiculous – I feel it’s got a life of its own and that it’s controlling me. The more it becomes technologically subtle; I think it kind of denies the world. I remember getting on the train home one day and everybody on the carriage was either texting, speaking or on laptops and you just look around and think surely there’s got to be more to life than this, but I’m just getting old and miserable probably.”
The thought-provoking drama is also quite powerful and intense at times. Although Davies has admitted to wanting to try something funnier in the future – and if I were you I’d laugh.
“It would be nice to do and nice to do something funny, because being made to laugh is one of the great joys of life, it really is. That’s why the atmosphere eon set should be warm and you can have fun. We’re doing something serious but you’ve got to be able to have a laugh,” Davies continued.
“The worse thing of all are people with no sense of humour, they are just killing. I remember on one occasion one actor who is completely humourless, at the end of a shot broke the most enormous fart, and it was louder than Krakatoa but a lot closer – and I said ‘surely that’s not an opinion?’ and I got nothing, it was like trying to have a conversation with a corpse.
You’ve got to have a laugh, passion and humour – without those you are dead,” he finished.
THE DEEP BLUE SEA COMES TO CINEMAS ON NOVEMBER 25