U Be Dead

[lilly]

New interview/production insights here.

[lilly]

Ginormous flurry of publicity prior to broadcast tonight--for those of you in the UK, it's on ITV1 at 9 pm--including an interview with the real Jan Falkowski (who indeed does resemble James Nesbitt more instead), some insights from writer Gwyneth Hughes, this Manchester Evening News article that made me shift uncomfortably in my seat when he mentioned fans not being intrusive (since it's my sincere hope that we here at the DMF2 don't fall into that category either), this TV Choice interview and a GMTV blurblet that I'm really only passing along because of the winsomely smiley-boo photo.

And not that I'm one to quibble with semantics (oh, who's kidding who here? Of course I am!) but isn't Mr. Morrissey a trifle young yet to be referred to as an, "acting legend" per se?
However, I was really struck by the comment, "I think one of the things about any character I play is I don't want them to be sympathetic," because so many actors want to be perceived positively at all costs, so making that distinction between sympathy and empathy is just one more reason why this guy kinda srsly rocks.

[kitty11]

Thanks for those article links Lilly, interesting reads there

Having just found out this morning via Twitter that U Be Dead was being screened, I did some Googling and came across this Telegraph article, which provided some neat insights into DM's thinking around the role of Jan.

I also couldn't help but crack up at this quote about his wife, Esther:

Who better, then, to understand her husband’s complex psychological landscape during difficult roles? “Ah yes,” he jokes, “my wife has got me on the couch many times.”

Um, yeah...

kitty

[kitty11]

After watching U Be Dead yesterday, I come bearing caps. These aren't the best quality as they're taken off ITV Player, but hopefully convey the pretty on offer suitably until I can score a video file/DVD version to work on

I hope to do a review in due course once I've thought over it a little. In the meantime...





































kitty

[lilly]

Sept 6, 2010 0:59:40 GMT kitty11 said:

Having just found out this morning via Twitter that U Be Dead was being screened, I did some Googling and came across this Telegraph article, which provided some neat insights into DM's thinking around the role of Jan.

That's the same article my friend Zuhamy tweeted me about by asking, "What have you been up to?" I know she was just teasing, but it still gave me pause to reflect on exactly what kind of online reputation I seem to have unwittingly acquired.

(That's right up there with another friend who was at the same London restaurant as Mr. Morrissey and told me afterwards, "Your fella was there." I hastily corrected him, "Erm, no, not my fella, but someone else's, as well as most assuredly being his own fella into the bargain.")

In any case, re: the article, I thought it was great that he managed to work in that plug for his wife's new book (which I look forward to reading, although evidently it's only available for pre-order at amazon.co.uk thus far), as I'm sure that her insights are going to be fascinating, especially since she's been an actress herself; her wonderful article about appearing in the Colin Baker episode 'Attack of the Cybermen' was much appreciated by this old-timey Whogeek, and since I've been rewatching the Sixth Doctor's episodes lately, I look forward to seeing if I can figure out which one of the Cryons she played!

Apart from the innate weirdness of pursuing a vocation in which you pretend to have intimate relations with people you barely know, I've always wondered exactly how the partners of actors contend with that particular aspect of the job too; I think you probably have to be a fairly exceptional person to deal with that successfully, let alone all the attendant nonsense (such as...oh, I don't know...random nutjobs on the internet having fansites devoted to your spouse, perhaps?), and as that's obviously the case with Ms. Freud, I definitely will appreciate getting some of her perspective on all this folderol.

And thanks so much for posting those screencaps, kitty; I was going to get to those next after I finished the ones you sent me from Nowhere Boy (which are now done, but it's 2:25 AM here in PST and I have to get up in five and a half hours to watch the LFC/Birmingham City game, so, uhm...yeah. They'll be posted next time) but yeehowza, those came out great; as already noted to you, I think this one is my favourite...



...(RAWR!) though the DBECP in this one is pretty much off the charts:



Penitent manpain. Oh, deary me.

[kitty11]

After mulling it over a little, here's my thoughts on U Be Dead. I will endeavour to keep it spoiler free where possible

Having read some articles on the RL story on which this film was based, I was really looking forward to seeing how the drama would play out on screen, because, quite frankly, there's a HEAP of fodder here to chew on. Perhaps, in hindsight, too much to cover in 90 minutes of screentime.

The whole series of events from go to whoa, which transpired over something like 7 years, just whizzed by in such a blur I felt as if the essential emotive elements were lost in the course of depicting the story itself. IMO it was done in a matter-of-fact way such that you got the sense of what was happening to Debra (being bombarded with death threats via SMSs & emails), and Jan (having certain accusations made against him that land him in hot water later in the story), but never really felt like you were alongside the characters going through these terrifying experiences, and ultimately understanding their reactions and what motivates them.

This is not so relevant to Debra, who's probably the most emotionally compelling (relatable?) character in the story, but is most pertinent to both Jan, DM's character, and to a lesser extent, Maria Marchese herself, who remains a total enigma throughout (whether this was intentional or not on behalf of the writer, I don't know ). I knew beforehand that DM had already admitted that Jan was a bit of a challenging character to play in a flattering light, but even his special redeem-the-unredeemable mojo powers couldn't get me to really care that much about Jan's plight, though I understood and had that background knowledge about his character reacting in an 'alpha-male' way, as DM puts it. The guy's supposed to be a top-notch psychiatrist, yet the way he shuts Debra down and dismisses her as 'weak' for what in his clinical training he should recognise as a 'typical' reaction to trauma, his lack of self-awareness at his own emotional withdrawl, as well as a lack of basic empathy for his own wife's suffering, just made me want to hurl objects and scream nasty expletives at my computer because it didn't strike me as credible, even though I knew this was how it supposedly happened Now I did the screaming, but refrained from hurling stuff, only because DM looked a treat

My disconnection from Jan (read: utter disgust and repulsion) was compounded further by the distinct lack of screentime dedicated to the development of his relationship with Bethan, which I'd consider a pretty integral plot element in UBD. Basically they just go from shagging to serious within about 15 minutes, and you don't really get much insight as to why or how this occurs. As a result I sat through the last half of the film to see things out, rather than out of any genuine interest or concern for the characters, aside from Debra

Plotting and drama aside, I think the actors made the most of the material at their disposal, and there was no ham and cheese to be seen But overall, this was more midday-movie fare than an insightful account of a story almost too remarkable to believe.

kitty

[Ravish Me Ripley]

I watched U Be Dead when it was on TV (and have it recorded somewhere...??) but haven't revisited it since. Now i rlly want to Those two last piccies of Dave with stubble!shadow make my knees weak. And i'm sat down!