Some Voices (film)
Encyclopedia
Some Voices is a British 2000
film directed by Simon Cellan-Jones
and adapted for the screen by Joe Penhall
, from his own stage play (originally a theatre production for the Royal Court, London). It is the first feature film by Cellan-Jones, a renowned TV director respected for his work on the BAFTA
-winning Our Friends in the North
. The film was almost entirely shot on location in Shepherd's Bush
, West London, where Cellan-Jones lives. The film has a running time of 101 minutes.
), has schizophrenia
. The story begins with Ray's discharge from psychiatric hospital. Ray’s devoted brother Pete (David Morrissey
) picks him up and drives Ray to his new abode, the spare room in Pete’s West London flat.
Pete is a chef who works long hours in the café (a traditional ‘greasy spoon’ during the day and a trendy eatery in the evening) that he inherited from his father. He now has to find the time to take care of Ray and monitor the medication that controls the voices in his head.
Ray is an intelligent, out-going young man. He soon falls for Laura (Kelly Macdonald
), a Glaswegian girl in the midst of breaking up with her abusive
boyfriend (Peter McDonald
). Laura becomes attracted to Ray because of his spontaneity and his childlike sense of fun.
Around this time, Pete also becomes involved in a relationship with Mandy (Julie Graham
).
As Ray’s relationship blossoms, he begins to resent taking his pills, preferring to trust in the soothing properties of love. Over time, this decision has disastrous effects on all three relationships: the relationship between the brothers, Ray and Laura, and Pete and Mandy.
Ray may cause disruption, concern and distress to those close to him but that is only a fraction of the distress his condition causes him. In the end, it is the relationship between the brothers that is central to the film. Pete is long-suffering but, despite all his frustration and resentment, his loving commitment keeps his brother from serious harm.
. It was nominated for the Golden Hitchcock Award at the annual Dinard Festival of British Cinema in France
. (Billy Elliot
won the award that year). The first-time director was nominated for the Best Newcomer at the British Academy Awards.
Critics were divided about Some Voices. Channel 4
called it “one of the best British films of 2000” with the director’s vision of west London’s “tower blocks, dual-carriageways and crowded streets” mirroring the central character’s “gradual disintegration”.
Mark Wyman of Film Review also recommended Some Voices as a film “definitely worth seeing” which “showcases some terrific British talent” .
Conversely, Empire
called the film, "claustrophobic and cornered” and claimed that it “probably brought the house down on stage, but on film, it's simply static".
Total Film
also had doubts. “Perhaps it’s the quirky, jerky This Life
camerawork or the dim, grainy film stock, but Some Voices never reaches out and grabs the audience, remaining a watch rather than an experience”. However, the director did “draw intelligent, effective turns from his cast – Daniel Craig and David Morrissey are excellent, while Kelly Macdonald delivers the kind of sweetly sexy performance she’s rapidly trade-marking”. Special mention was also made of one particular “brilliant effect”. As Ray, Daniel Craig’s central character, “stops taking his tablets, the strange staticky images start to dominate his vision, the odd sounds begin to blot out reality and, gradually, the gulf between the world he experiences and the one everyone else lives in widens disastrously. It’s a clever and mammothly effective technique, communicating not just the strangeness of what’s happening to Ray, but also the sheer terror of it”.
Time Out, on the other hand, described this “brilliant effect” as “over-egging it somewhat”. The “whirling camera effects and freaky sound mix overstates the point that our man really is not well”. Nevertheless, the Time Out reviewer is also complimentary about the acting. “Penhall's adaptation of his play remains an actors' showcase. Morrissey skillfully registers abiding filial love tested by simmering exasperation; MacDonald's adept at lippy on top, vulnerable underneath; and Craig's vibrant yet haunted expressiveness tells us everything needful about this doomed sweetheart”.
Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian
and Peter Byrne in the Student BMJ
(British Medical Journal
) are much more unequivocal in their praise. Bradshaw calls the film “a serious, substantial, and compassionate movie which demands to be seen, not least for its outstanding performances from an excellent cast”. Byrne says that Some Voices “works as a film, and a technically accomplished one at that”.
Both reviewers particularly commend the film’s avoidance of cliché. Bradshaw stresses that “nothing could be more tiresome and dishonest than shop worn RD Laing-style clichés about schizophrenia being a heightened visionary state which the western world crushes under the jackboot of its dull rationalist enlightenment. Such a proposition would not correspond to the actual experience of schizophrenia sufferers and their carers; in real life, schizophrenia can lead to a lifelong trial of stress and unhappiness, and Some Voices reflects this”. He also welcomes the fact that “the schizophrenic is not demonised as a potential criminal or as a care-in-the-community basket-case” and “Ray's essential humanity is transcribed with sympathy and warmth, and so is the patience and perseverance of Pete, who must shoulder most of the burden of schizophrenia's terrible mystery”. Byrne writes that “the film is refreshing in its avoidance of the standard formulas. Gone are the psycho-killer, pathetic, or "crazy funny guy" stereotypes… There is no blaming, no mental illness as metaphor, no psychiatry
bashing, and - although a romance lies at its core - there is none of the usual message that "love is better than tablets."
2000 in film
The year 2000 in film involved some significant events.The top grosser worldwide was Mission: Impossible II. Domestically in North America, Gladiator won the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor ....
film directed by Simon Cellan-Jones
Simon Cellan-Jones
Simon Cellan-Jones is a Welsh television director and film director, who began his career as a production assistant in the mid-1980s, working on series such as Edge of Darkness. By the late 1980s he had worked his way up to become a director, and he gained credits on some of the most acclaimed...
and adapted for the screen by Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall
Joe Penhall is a British playwright and screenwriter.Born in London, his first major play was Some Voices for the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1994, which won the John Whiting Award. It has twice been revived off Broadway...
, from his own stage play (originally a theatre production for the Royal Court, London). It is the first feature film by Cellan-Jones, a renowned TV director respected for his work on the BAFTA
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
-winning Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North
Our Friends in the North is a British television drama serial, produced by the BBC and originally broadcast in nine episodes on BBC Two in early 1996...
. The film was almost entirely shot on location in Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
, West London, where Cellan-Jones lives. The film has a running time of 101 minutes.
Plot
The film’s central character, Ray (Daniel CraigDaniel Craig
Daniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
), has schizophrenia
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of thought processes and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests itself as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social...
. The story begins with Ray's discharge from psychiatric hospital. Ray’s devoted brother Pete (David Morrissey
David Morrissey
David Mark Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool, and learned to act at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer , which won him recognition throughout the country...
) picks him up and drives Ray to his new abode, the spare room in Pete’s West London flat.
Pete is a chef who works long hours in the café (a traditional ‘greasy spoon’ during the day and a trendy eatery in the evening) that he inherited from his father. He now has to find the time to take care of Ray and monitor the medication that controls the voices in his head.
Ray is an intelligent, out-going young man. He soon falls for Laura (Kelly Macdonald
Kelly Macdonald
Kelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress, known for her role in the independent film Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2...
), a Glaswegian girl in the midst of breaking up with her abusive
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
boyfriend (Peter McDonald
Peter McDonald
Peter McDonald is an author, university lecturer and critic.-Biography:He was educated at Methodist College, Belfast, and University College, Oxford. He has been writing poetry since his teens, and was the winner of national young poet competitions in 1978 and 1979...
). Laura becomes attracted to Ray because of his spontaneity and his childlike sense of fun.
Around this time, Pete also becomes involved in a relationship with Mandy (Julie Graham
Julie Graham
Julie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in...
).
As Ray’s relationship blossoms, he begins to resent taking his pills, preferring to trust in the soothing properties of love. Over time, this decision has disastrous effects on all three relationships: the relationship between the brothers, Ray and Laura, and Pete and Mandy.
Ray may cause disruption, concern and distress to those close to him but that is only a fraction of the distress his condition causes him. In the end, it is the relationship between the brothers that is central to the film. Pete is long-suffering but, despite all his frustration and resentment, his loving commitment keeps his brother from serious harm.
Cast
- Daniel CraigDaniel CraigDaniel Wroughton Craig is an English actor. His early film roles include Elizabeth, The Power of One, A Kid in King Arthur's Court and the television episodes Sharpe's Eagle, Zorro and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Daredevils of the Desert...
– Ray - Kelly MacdonaldKelly MacdonaldKelly Macdonald is a Scottish actress, known for her role in the independent film Trainspotting and mainstream releases such as Nanny McPhee, Gosford Park, Intermission, No Country for Old Men and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2...
– Laura - David MorrisseyDavid MorrisseyDavid Mark Morrissey is an English actor and director. Morrissey grew up in the Kensington and Knotty Ash areas of Liverpool, and learned to act at the city's Everyman Youth Theatre. At the age of 18, he was cast in the television series One Summer , which won him recognition throughout the country...
– Pete - Julie GrahamJulie GrahamJulie Graham is a Scottish television and film actress.-Career:Graham's television roles have included The Houseman's Tale BBC TV Series , Alison McGrellis in Casualty ; Alice in Harry ; Alison McIntyre in Life Support ; Lisa Kennedy in The Bill ; Megan Hartnoll in...
– Mandy - Peter McDonaldPeter McDonald (actor)Peter McDonald is an Irish stage and screen actor. He grew up in Mount Merrion in South County Dublin. His mother, Brenda Costigan is a cookery writer and his father, Richard McDonald sells bailer twine...
– Dave - Nicholas Palliser – Friend
- Edward Tudor Pole - Lighter seller
Soundtrack
- "Speed of the Sound of Loneliness" – Alabama 3Alabama 3Alabama 3 are a British band mixing rock, dance, blues, country, and gospel styles, founded in Brixton, London, in 1995. In the United States, they are known as A3, allegedly to avoid any possible legal conflict with the country music band Alabama...
- "Rake It In" – Imogen HeapImogen HeapImogen Jennifer Jane Heap is a Grammy Award-winning English singer, composer and songwriter from Havering, Essex. She is known for her work as part of the musical duo Frou Frou and her solo albums, which she writes, produces, and mixes...
- "This Is the Tempo" - Grand Theft Auto
- "54-46 Was My Number" – Toots & the MaytalsToots & the MaytalsToots and the Maytals, originally called simply The Maytals, are a Jamaican musical group and one of the best known ska and reggae vocal groups. According to Sandra Brennan at Allmusic, "The Maytals were key figures in reggae music...
- "Goodbye Girl" – Squeeze
- "Il ragazzo della Via Gluck" (French Version "La Maison ou j'ai grandi)" - Françoise Hardy
Awards and critical acclaim
Some Voices premiered in Directors' Fortnight at CannesCannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
. It was nominated for the Golden Hitchcock Award at the annual Dinard Festival of British Cinema in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. (Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot
Billy Elliot is a 2000 British drama film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Set in the fictional town of "Everington" in the real County Durham, UK, it stars Jamie Bell as 11-year-old Billy, an aspiring dancer, Gary Lewis as his coal miner father, Jamie Draven as Billy's older...
won the award that year). The first-time director was nominated for the Best Newcomer at the British Academy Awards.
Critics were divided about Some Voices. Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
called it “one of the best British films of 2000” with the director’s vision of west London’s “tower blocks, dual-carriageways and crowded streets” mirroring the central character’s “gradual disintegration”.
Mark Wyman of Film Review also recommended Some Voices as a film “definitely worth seeing” which “showcases some terrific British talent” .
Conversely, Empire
Empire (magazine)
Empire is a British film magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. From the first issue in July 1989, the magazine was edited by Barry McIlheney and published by Emap. Bauer purchased Emap Consumer Media in early 2008...
called the film, "claustrophobic and cornered” and claimed that it “probably brought the house down on stage, but on film, it's simply static".
Total Film
Total Film
Total Film is a British film magazine published 13 times a year by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and offers film, DVD and Blu-ray news, reviews and features...
also had doubts. “Perhaps it’s the quirky, jerky This Life
This Life
This Life is a BBC television drama that was produced by World Productions and screened on BBC Two. Two series were broadcast in 1996 and 1997 and a reunion special in 2007....
camerawork or the dim, grainy film stock, but Some Voices never reaches out and grabs the audience, remaining a watch rather than an experience”. However, the director did “draw intelligent, effective turns from his cast – Daniel Craig and David Morrissey are excellent, while Kelly Macdonald delivers the kind of sweetly sexy performance she’s rapidly trade-marking”. Special mention was also made of one particular “brilliant effect”. As Ray, Daniel Craig’s central character, “stops taking his tablets, the strange staticky images start to dominate his vision, the odd sounds begin to blot out reality and, gradually, the gulf between the world he experiences and the one everyone else lives in widens disastrously. It’s a clever and mammothly effective technique, communicating not just the strangeness of what’s happening to Ray, but also the sheer terror of it”.
Time Out, on the other hand, described this “brilliant effect” as “over-egging it somewhat”. The “whirling camera effects and freaky sound mix overstates the point that our man really is not well”. Nevertheless, the Time Out reviewer is also complimentary about the acting. “Penhall's adaptation of his play remains an actors' showcase. Morrissey skillfully registers abiding filial love tested by simmering exasperation; MacDonald's adept at lippy on top, vulnerable underneath; and Craig's vibrant yet haunted expressiveness tells us everything needful about this doomed sweetheart”.
Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and Peter Byrne in the Student BMJ
Student BMJ
Student BMJ is a monthly, international medical journal for medical students and junior doctors. It is published by the BMJ Group, which publishes the highly prestigious BMJ and over 30 other speciality journals....
(British Medical Journal
British Medical Journal
BMJ is a partially open-access peer-reviewed medical journal. Originally called the British Medical Journal, the title was officially shortened to BMJ in 1988. The journal is published by the BMJ Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Medical Association...
) are much more unequivocal in their praise. Bradshaw calls the film “a serious, substantial, and compassionate movie which demands to be seen, not least for its outstanding performances from an excellent cast”. Byrne says that Some Voices “works as a film, and a technically accomplished one at that”.
Both reviewers particularly commend the film’s avoidance of cliché. Bradshaw stresses that “nothing could be more tiresome and dishonest than shop worn RD Laing-style clichés about schizophrenia being a heightened visionary state which the western world crushes under the jackboot of its dull rationalist enlightenment. Such a proposition would not correspond to the actual experience of schizophrenia sufferers and their carers; in real life, schizophrenia can lead to a lifelong trial of stress and unhappiness, and Some Voices reflects this”. He also welcomes the fact that “the schizophrenic is not demonised as a potential criminal or as a care-in-the-community basket-case” and “Ray's essential humanity is transcribed with sympathy and warmth, and so is the patience and perseverance of Pete, who must shoulder most of the burden of schizophrenia's terrible mystery”. Byrne writes that “the film is refreshing in its avoidance of the standard formulas. Gone are the psycho-killer, pathetic, or "crazy funny guy" stereotypes… There is no blaming, no mental illness as metaphor, no psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
bashing, and - although a romance lies at its core - there is none of the usual message that "love is better than tablets."