Bird's Eye View

BEV alum D.R. Hood’s feature debut Wreckers reviewed + free Nest tickets to film & Q+A.

Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch

Wreckers is a tense and disturbing tale of what we believe but don’t know about those closest to us, set in a Fens village amid a pastoral landscape of epically stretching fields and woods and starring Claire Foy and Benedict Cumberbatch. It is the debut feature from female writer/director Dictynna Hood, whose previous work includes shorts Journey Man (2002) and The Other Man (2006), which BEV screened in 2007 and which was nominated for a BBC Upcoming Director Award. Dict was also selected for BEV’s recent ReAnimate animation development initiative. We review the film, talk to Dict and offer you free tickets to see her and Benedict live at the Curzon Soho!!

Wreckers

(UK 2011, Dir. D.R. Hood, 86min)

The film takes place in the Fens and is a tale of secrets, lies and the webs of uncertainty and unrest which they invariably weave. With a stunning cast lead by Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy and Shaun Evans, the film carefully depicts sensitive issues surrounding the after-effects of war, childhood trauma, infertility and infidelity whilst maintaining a strict focus on character relationships within the drama.

Dawn (Claire) and David (Cumberbatch) are a newly married couple who have recently moved into the village where David was raised. Their lives seem happy and tranquil until David’s younger brother Nick (Evans) surprises them with a visit. A career in the army as well as something of a troubled childhood have left Nick with some deep psychological issues which are inflicted nightly upon the couple in the form of often destructive bouts of sleep walking. At first the brothers’ relationship seems clearly defined, with David occupying the traditional role of the protective older brother. However, as troubling information regarding their childhood emerges from the brothers and the villagers who grew up with them, the central relationships gradually shift and distort until neither the characters nor the audience are able to truly decipher them.

The most notable thing about Wreckers is the way in which it is able to sustain audience interest throughout, via a rare cinematic subtlety which chooses to creep and cajole rather than announce itself with a bang. The film utilizes many key techniques in order to maintain its quiet intrigue. For instance, Dawn is the main protagonist in a restricted narrative which finds her practically clueless in a village which is steeped in dramatic backstory and troubled character relations. The audience are positioned to empathise with Dawn and, with their knowledge base limited to hers, this ensures that any suspense is contextually relevant. As Dawn gradually uncovers information about her husband, so too does the viewer and, rather than feeling overtly manipulated for dramatic effect, the audience naturally identify with a character who knows very little.

The main way in which tension is created and maintained throughout comes from an intriguing interplay between past and present. The mystery and suspense of Wreckers comes predominantly from the dramatic backstory of several of the characters. The shadowed past clearly influences many of the characters’ attitudes and actions towards one another, but is never explicitly shown or stated. This aspect of the narrative is subtly poetic, as it moves forwards and alters relationships by exposing certain worrying elements of the past. Unfortunately, the ending of the film chooses not to satisfy the curiosity which has plagued the audience, with the result being that the average viewer will be left feeling frustrated. However, the way in which information is fed to the viewer is consistent throughout, which results in the film slowly relinquishing its hold over the audience and offering more of a farewell serenade than an abrupt goodbye.

Wreckers features a set of intriguing characters whose relationships feel fully formed and suitably complex. The characters are well written and never rely on cliché or caricature to lazily communicate information to the audience. Each of the characters behaves despicably at times, but manages to maintain their redeeming qualities in a way which is both realistic and tragic. This realism is wonderfully portrayed through a series of naturalistic performances, specifically from Foy and Cumberbatch, who portray a relationship which is precariously balanced between the peaceful realms of trust and truth and the worrying uncertainty of suspicion and lies. Cumberbatch in particular is virtually unrecognizable and appears to shift seamlessly from loving husband to quiet deceiver and back again.

As Wreckers progresses it becomes apparent that Dawn’s future happiness, as well as the fate of her relationship, is tied to her position as a woman. In fact, after viewing the film it is Dawn’s predicament which will stay with the audience, as Dawn’s willingness to momentarily embrace that which was once abhorrent to her poses some difficult questions about the essence of womanhood and the questionable outcome of an adherence to traditional femininity and natural processes over morality and modernity.

The film creates and sustains suspense by channeling information through a restricted narrative and never explicitly or objectively decoding past events. Wreckers is well-acted, delicately paced and marks a gripping beginning for a director with an exciting future ahead.

Review by Sonia Zadurian

BEV chatted to director Dict about village life, funding success and her golden advice to those readers preparing for their first feature:

D.R. Hood

Huge congratulations Dictynna, you’ve made your first feature, it’s had critical and public acclaim at the BFI London Film Festival and is being released by Artificial Eye this Friday. Wow! How do you feel?

It was exciting watching the film with audiences at the LFF – really fascinating to see and feel at what point the audience get lured in by the film. It was my intention with Wreckers to make a seductive film, it’s like Dawn, the main character, is being slowly seduced into David, her husband’s world…  

The actors we cast (Claire Foy, Benedict Cumberbatch, Shaun Evans) were younger than they were originally written.  I think this and the subtlety of the performances has had the effect of making the characters more sympathetic, but it was also important to me that audiences would feel unsettled by the dynamic between the three: now it’s over to the audience as to how we’ve walked that line.

What was the conception of Wreckers? Where did the story come from?

I wrote a short film 12-15 years ago about village life – the film was never made but the story stayed with me. Then one day about 5 years ago, I had some free time one morning, sat down in an old armchair in the sun, and wrote the mood and story of Wreckers all at once. The position of the characters in the film changed from the first draft, but the mood and essential story stayed the same. I grew up in a village in East Oxfordshire, not the Fens setting of Wreckers but it shares a similar flat and open landscape that had a strong effect on me growing up. As a child I read a book of Fenland tales that were also a great inspiration and I find the landscape of the Fens really epic and exciting. So essentially this is my imaginative response to growing up in a village.

And what’s the relevance of the title?

Who’s wrecking what – over to the audience again!  The title was suggested by Clare Perry who was one of my fantastic script editors.

Your 2006 short The Other Man was in Birds Eye View FF2007 and was nominated for a BBC Upcoming Director Award. How was that experience for you?

BEV’s audiences were terrific – they found the humour in The Other Man that no other audiences had done. They were great!

You were on the Birds Eye View ReAnimate Lab earlier this year. Where has that lead you to?

Well, in very specific terms, on the lab I wrote a feature treatment for a strange fairytale set on an island, which I am very pleased with. Three of the animators and I then decided to apply for a Wellcome small arts grant, and have just found out that we have got it. The grant is for making a short animation film about communication within families where a family member has mental health problems. I’ll be the writer on this; I’ve just started to research the area and feel very challenged but excited by the opportunity. Being part of ReAnimate opened my mind to the immense possibilities offered by animation – (including going to the Bradford Animation Festival and learning about the FX on ‘Inception’ and how Pixar go to work!) – I’m thrilled this short animation project has come out of it, and hopefully a feature film in time.

What advice would you give to other filmmakers hoping to make their first feature?

Have a script you believe in. Before making Wreckers I was often given one piece of advice, which I’m going to pass on to readers even though I didn’t take it – it’s really hard to take advice before you’ve experienced the reality. If you are working on a tight budget, keep the film and narrative contained – just in terms of locations – not its thematic ambition – but moving locations takes time out of the schedule. Take the time to find excellent collaborators. Also, for a drama, casting is key. Not necessarily ‘names’ – we are very lucky our leads have gone on to do so well -  but getting the right cast who believe in and can inhabit the project fully.

As well as the Wellcome-funded short animation, what’s next for you?

A comedy drama with five brothers rather than two; a romcom; a musical; a comedy horror… ?!   I’ve also got two television ideas. I like filmmakers like the Coen Brothers who keep themselves and everyone else on their toes.  

Thank you Dict, we’ll watch this space for your next genre-straddling or even genre-busting masterpieces!

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Courtesy of Artificial Eye, we have two pair of free tickets for Nest Members to the screening + Q&A with D. R. Hood, Benedict Cumberbatch and other cast (tbc) at the Curzon Soho on Sat 17 Dec at 6.30pm.

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