Entertainment

Real review – deep-feeling look at the struggles of new love | Romance films

Published

5 months ago

September 12, 2020

It is not unusual for British directors to cut their teeth on slice of life drama, but few pull it off with as much warmth and care for the lives they’re putting on screen as Aki Omoshaybi, who makes an impressive feature debut with this low-key portrait of a black working-class couple in Portsmouth. It is a It’s a little rough around the edges, but Real is a deep-feeling romance, assembled on a budget of next to nothing outside the usual funding channels – Omoshaybi cast the actors by messaging them on Instagram.

The director gives a quietly convincing turn himself as Kyle, a wary man with gentle eyes who’s not long out of prison – everything he owns fits into a bin bag. When he meets Jamie (Pippa Bennett-Warner), Kyle invents another life for himself, giving her the impression that he’s a solicitor. Jamie also lies, telling him that she has an office job when actually she works part-time in a supermarket while studying accountancy and looking after her son. One night, in a restaurant neither can afford to visit, she blurts out a confession: “I just don’t want to be defined by what I do.” Kyle and Jamie see in each other the better future they hope for.

The painful question Real poses is: can their relationship survive the truth? Omoshaybi approaches the answer with patience, though his plot relies on a couple of implausible coincidences and there is a wobbly scene or two. In places the film feels a tad under-developed, and in places budgetary constraints really do show, but the understated lead performances mostly hold it together. Bennett-Warner in particular has you rooting for Jamie: damaged by a tough childhood but persistent and determined to build a good life for her son. It’s an optimistic, tender film with more authenticity in its little finger than plenty of films by more experienced directors.

• The Real is in cinemas and available on digital platforms from 11 September.

Source link

Entertainment

Actors Filming Sex Scenes Stories Movies/TV Shows

Published

25 mins ago

January 28, 2021

admin

The romantic drama Carol — starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara — was released in 2015 to critical acclaim and sparked a big conversation on the importance of telling celebratory love stories between women. While promoting the movie, the two actors were constantly asked how they developed their dynamic onscreen chemistry — specifically for their sex scenes.

At BFI London’s Film Festival, Mara explained that chemistry isn’t just something you can rehearse: “It was easy for me to feel chemistry towards Cate not only because, you know, she’s Cate, but [because] my character spent much of the film in awe of this woman and enamored with her — that was very easy for me to embody.” She went on to say that she immediately felt comfortable working with Blanchett while filming their sex scene in the hotel, and that “she’s a very generous actor [who’s] very alive and in the moment.”

Blanchett and Mara’s sex scene was one of the first they filmed for Carol, and they spent two weeks rehearsing before laying everything out on set. Blanchett revealed in a Q&A once the two actors got on set, they learned there were bed bugs in the hotel room — so initially, it was a difficult day shooting in the nude. But, ultimately, Blanchett thought it was a moving experience. “The consummation of their relationship is really important,” Blanchett told BFI London. “We talked about the scene, and there’s a great sense of trust between Rooney and I.”

Blanchett went on to describe how powerful it was to film the love scene with Mara because of how isolated both of their characters were in the film leading up to the moment. She said: “They go through a lot of processing these volcanic feelings independent upon one another, so frankly, it was a relief to do these scenes with Rooney. It’s like: ‘Finally, we get to — you know — be together.'”

Source link