Essex Boys: One of the critical successes of 2002, Lawless Heart has been released by Optimum on DVD and video. Gavin Bush caught up with the writer/directors Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger.
In an industry renowned for delicate egos and despotic directors, Neil Hunter and Tom Hunsinger bring a refreshing and open approach to their filmmaking. Now with ten years of writing together behind them, Tom recalls how they started, "He (Neil) put an ad in The Stage magazine looking for actors because he was shooting a short film and I answered and said I didn't want to act but I wanted to help him produce it. That's how we met. We made that and then moved on to write together." Their partnership led to writing and directing Boyfriends in 1996. Already, contributions from actors were becoming central to their unique method, as Tom explains, "We didn't really want to just write about our own experiences so we interviewed about a hundred gay actors for the parts, whittled it down to seven and then improvised most of the film." For Lawless Heart they continued and developed this writing process, "We have the story and the characters and then we cast it. We sit around for about 10 days and talk about the characters motives and background; the actors have quite a bit of input, then we improvise key scenes which we record." According to Neil the choice of actors is crucial, "You would chose an actor that a) you like, and b) you think is interesting and seems to work for that story, and will bring something to it in the hope that they will bring in suggestions."
This nurturing approach succeeds on screen. There is no waste in the impressive naturalistic dialogue and acting in Lawless Heart. Set in Malden, Essex, the film centres around three men's misadventures in love and lust following the death of a mutual friend Stuart. The story is told once from each characters perspective, starting at the funeral and getting a little further each time. This isn't an original device, but in Neil and Tom's hands it is effective and never repetitive, satisfactorily revealing more details of the story as the film progresses. We start with Stuart's brother-in-law Dan (Bill Nighy) in mid life crisis trying to pluck up the "courage" to have an affair. Nighy was one of the first actors involved in the project and his gripping performance is both subtle and poignant. Next we see Stuart's boyfriend Nick (Tom Hollander) as he finds himself curiously attracted to quirky party girl Charlie. Better known for his lighter and comic roles, Hollander handles Nick's emotional complications with surprising success. Third and finally we follow Stuart's old friend Tim (Douglas Henshall). Ostensibly all fun and cheer, through a wavering accent Henshall reveals Tim's vulnerable and insecure side as he falls for beautiful local girl Leah.
On set the work is split with Tom handling the actors and Neil working directly with the crew. Neil finds the responsibility of directing draining, "I noticed on Lawless Heart everyone seemed to be having a whale of a time - except me. You start at 8.30 in the morning and you always feel anxious; you have this anxiety when you start that your not going to finish." Even with Tom sharing that burden? Neil is philosophical, "I don't feel that a shared responsibility is a responsibility diminished." They are aware that being the writers brings them a natural authority. As a result they are open to input from the crew as Tom emphasises, "It was important for them to have a contribution and that they thought it was their film as well." Neil continues, "We gave birth to it three or four years ago and what's fascinating for me is watching it grow with all these people coming into t. You want to keep it going without needing to control what they're actually bringing to it." Judging it as a mixture of good choices and luck Tom was pleased with the team they assembled, "You couldn't wish for a better crew than we had, I mean people who would bend over backwards to get things right." As the film develops the complications and emotions that ensue from Stuart's death become more salient.
There is tension over Stuart's will between his sister Judy (Dan's wife) and Nick. Dan isn't happy with the money going to Nick and we see his incongruous homophobia come to the surface. Meanwhile Nick has offered Tim a place to stay, but Tim's rowdy and easygoing lifestyle starts to grate. Tim organises a party in a rouse to meet Leah, but she leaves when she finds out. Inadvertently the party sets up Tim with Charlie when he discovers her drunk and naked in his bed. Dan, first flattered by the attentions of French florist Corinne at the funeral, finds his erstwhile libido compromising him on the front seat of his car. Tim persists with Leah, but just as their relationship is getting closer he discovers her turbulent history with his old friend David. Nick and Charlie, at first site the most unlikely of couples start to find solace together. Neil and Tim's script admirably presents the complexities of modern romance in England warts and all - the sex scenes are down to earth in a way that still seems refreshing in today's cinema.
The film opens and closes with old 8mm footage, the only time we see Stuart in the film. This also acts as a thread throughout as we see Dan tinkering with Stuart's old projector trying to get it to work. It is a very effective theme, and although from early in the script it was seen as a link between the characters in the story, the idea to close the film with the 8mm footage came late when there was trouble finding a satisfactory ending. For Neil it worked better than they had imagined, "It's funny. It wasn't until the press conference at the Locarno Film Festival that I understood how ending the film with the 8mm film made Stuart much more central a character than I knew when we were making it." Neil views the audience as collaborator in this respect, "You don't really know exactly what you've done until you have an audience telling you, which is one of the things I really like about film." Prolific composer Adrian Johnston's pleasant score never plays under the dialogue. In a respectful way it acts as a link between scenes inviting the audience to take a breath and pause for reflection.
Going against Hollywood convention in this way leaves the acting free of distractions, and the performances are allowed to shine on their own. This was a conscience decision as Neil points out, "I don't really like music under dialogue; it's like nudging you. It shouldn't tell you how to read the scene. We wanted it to matter when it came in, we wanted it to say something."
An abundant use of natural light characterises Sean Bobbit's beautiful location photography. Although not mentioned in the film explicitly, the location of Malden has a big effect on setting the tone and feel of Lawless Heart and Neil regrets cutting out a scene with an 'Essex Bedding' shop in the background to nail the town. The choice of location worked as he had hoped; "One of the reactions to the film that I have been happy about is that people say it has a real sense of place. We were always keen to anchor it." Time-lapse shots of the tide rising over the causeway to Ossea Island could appear crude in another context, but here they sit comfortably as a way to show time travelling backwards to the beginning of the story.
Inevitably, acting only as catalysts, the female characters in Lawless Heart are never explored to their full. Neil likes writing for women and the imbalance wasn't premeditated; "It was only afterwards that we noticed we'd told three stories about men, it hadn't occurred to us when we were thinking of the stories." This is a shame as Neil and Tom have created interesting female characters with genuine depth, well brought to life by the female cast. It is enticing to think what they could achieve with a more female focus - definitely something to look forward to in the future.
It is great to know that there are plenty of extras on the DVD release. The female cast join the directors for the commentary and according to Neil there is also a very funny interview with Bill Nighy as well as out-takes, "We dredged up some deleted scenes. They are kind of interesting because we explain why they were deleted. I hope it's interesting from a nuts and bolts point of view of how the film was actually put together, and why decisions were made". Hoping to build on the success of Lawless Heart, Neil and Tom are currently busy writing their new film Sparkle for BBC Films.
Gavin Bush
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