The Hide

Last updated

The Hide
TheHidePoster.jpg
Directed by Marek Losey
Written by Tim Whitnall
Produced byChristopher Granier-Deferre
John Schwab
Starring Alex Macqueen
Phil Campbell
Cinematography George Richmond
Edited byColin Sumsion
Music byDebbie Wiseman
Distributed byPoisson Rouge Pictures
Release date
  • 5 October 2008 (2008-10-05)(Dinard Film Festival)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Hide is a 2008 film, the debut from director Marek Losey, who previously had an award-winning career as a director of advertisements. [1] The film starred Alex Macqueen and Phil Campbell, based on the stage play The Sociable Plover by Tim Whitnall, who also wrote the screenplay. The film had the strapline "No Crime Stays Hidden Forever". Produced by Christopher Granier-Deferre and John Schwab.

Contents

Plot

The film is set in and around a bird-hide on the Suffolk marshes owned by Roy Tunt (Macqueen). Roy is a middle-aged, obsessive bird watcher, who needs just one more sighting (of the sociable plover) to complete the entire British list of birds. He is unexpectedly joined by a dishevelled and tattooed stranger, who introduces himself as Dave John (Campbell). After an awkward start, the pair build up a rapport, share lunch, have a drink and discuss a wide variety of subjects. Roy tells David that he used to work in a poultry factory and that his wife left him for another man.

Roy's walkie-talkie picks up a police message about a local murder by someone fitting David's description. Dave is armed but his gun falls out of his pocket when he falls asleep and Roy takes it. Roy then confesses that he is the man wanted for murder; that the victims were his wife and her partner. He sickens David by describing how he disposed of the bodies in a poultry factory mincer, turning them into a paste which he has fed to David in the sandwiches they had shared earlier. Roy intends to blow up the police helicopter that is looking for him on the marsh. David tries to reason with Roy but the pair end up fighting. In the struggle, David steals his gun back and kills Roy.

Filming

The film was shot on location at Elmley Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey in November and December 2007. [2] [3]

Cast

Macqueen had previously played the role of Tunt in the stage version. [1]

Critical evaluation

The film met with a positive critical reaction; The Scotsman 's Alistair Harkness described it as "an absorbing drama from two characters in a single location that simmers with menace and builds to a satisfyingly macabre conclusion". [4] The Independent 's Anthony Quinn described it as "a modestly scaled but cleverly written chamber piece", and commented on "the superb underplaying by the two actors, Campbell coiled and terse, Macqueen prissily pedantic and controlling". [5] James Christopher of The Times described the interplay between the two protagonists: "Their arguments have the tension and rhythm of a classic black-box fringe play. It's a crude but enthralling duel with shades of Peter Shaffer's Sleuth. Shades too of Hitchcock’s Rope." [6] The Observer 's film critic Philip French identified influences from both Losey's grandfather and Harold Pinter. [7] Time Out 's David Jenkins also compared the film to the work of Samuel Beckett. [8] Allan Hunter of the Daily Express also raised Beckett comparisons and called it "moody, minimalist and well-observed". [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Losey</span> American filmmaker and theatre director

Joseph Walton Losey III was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Blacklisted by Hollywood in the 1950s, he moved to Europe where he made the remainder of his films, mostly in the United Kingdom. Among the most critically and commercially successful were the films with screenplays by Harold Pinter: The Servant (1963) and The Go-Between (1971).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titchwell Marsh</span> Nature reserve in the United Kingdom

Titchwell Marsh is an English nature reserve owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). Located on the north coast of the county of Norfolk, between the villages of Titchwell and Thornham, about 8 km (5.0 mi) east of the seaside resort of Hunstanton, its 171 hectares include reed beds, saltmarshes, a freshwater lagoon and sandy beach, with a small woodland area near the car park. This internationally important reserve is part of the North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and the Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), and is also protected through Natura 2000, Special Protection Area (SPA) and Ramsar listings.

European golden plover Species of bird

The European golden plover, also known as the European golden-plover, Eurasian golden plover, or just the golden plover within Europe, is a largish plover. This species is similar to two other golden plovers: the American golden plover, Pluvialis dominica, and Pacific golden plover, Pluvialis fulva, which are both smaller, slimmer and relatively longer-legged than European golden plover, and both have grey rather than white axillary feathers.

Stronsay

Stronsay is an island in Orkney, Scotland. It is known as Orkney's 'Island of Bays', owing to an irregular shape with miles of coastline, with three large bays separated by two isthmuses: St Catherine's Bay to the west, the Bay of Holland to the south and Mill Bay to the east. Stronsay is 3,275 hectares in area, and 44 metres in altitude at its highest point. It has a usually resident population of 349. The main village is Whitehall, home to a heritage centre.

Egg incubation The process by which certain egg-laying animals hatch their eggs

Egg incubation is the process by which an egg, of oviparous (egg-laying) animals, develops an embryo within the egg, after the egg's formation and ovipositional release. Egg incubation is done under favorable environmental conditions, possibly by brooding and hatching the egg.

<i>Vanellus</i> Genus of birds

Vanellus is the genus of waders which provisionally contains all lapwings except red-kneed dotterel, Erythrogonys cinctus. The name "vanellus" is Latin for "little fan", vanellus being the diminutive of vannus. The name is in reference to the sound lapwings' wings make in flight.

<i>Dracula</i> (1958 film) 1958 horror film directed by Terence Fisher

Dracula is a 1958 British gothic horror film directed by Terence Fisher and written by Jimmy Sangster based on Bram Stoker's 1897 novel of the same title. The first in the series of Hammer Horror films starring Christopher Lee as Count Dracula, the film also features Peter Cushing as Doctor Van Helsing, along with Michael Gough, Melissa Stribling, Carol Marsh, and John Van Eyssen. In the United States, the film was retitled Horror of Dracula to avoid confusion with the U.S. original by Universal Pictures, 1931's Dracula.

<i>The Scarlet Claw</i> 1944 film by Roy William Neill

The Scarlet Claw is a 1944 American mystery thriller film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes detective stories. Directed by Roy William Neill and starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, it is the eighth film of the Rathbone/Bruce series. David Stuart Davies notes on the film's DVD audio commentary that it's generally considered by critics and fans of the series to be the best of the twelve Holmes films made by Universal.

Patrick Magee (actor) Northern Irish actor and director of stage and screen (1922–1982)

Patrick George McGee, known professionally as Patrick Magee, was a Northern Irish actor and stage director, known for his distinctive voice. He was known for his collaborations with Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, as well as creating the role of the Marquis de Sade in the original stage and screen productions of Marat/Sade. He also appeared in numerous horror films and in two Stanley Kubrick films, A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tim Whitnall</span> English actor, playwright and screenwriter

Timothy Charles Whitnall is an English actor, playwright and screenwriter. He is known for playing Angelo in the long-running CITV series Mike and Angelo and narrating the BBC children's TV programme Teletubbies from 1997 to 2001. As a writer, he has won a BAFTA and an Olivier Award for his work on TV movie Best Possible Taste: The Kenny Everett Story and play Morecambe. He is also a voice actor, providing voices on television shows such as Fifi and the Flowertots, Roary the Racing Car and Thomas & Friends.

Roll Me Away 1983 single by Bob Seger

"Roll Me Away" is a song written by American rock artist Bob Seger on the album The Distance by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. The song was used as Seger's opening song on his Face the Promise tour in 2006-2007, his first tour in a decade.

<i>The Go-Between</i> (1971 film) 1971 British film directed by Joseph Losey

The Go-Between is a 1971 British period romantic drama film directed by Joseph Losey. Its screenplay, by Harold Pinter, is an adaptation of the 1953 novel The Go-Between by L. P. Hartley. The film stars Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton, Michael Redgrave and Dominic Guard. It won the Palme d'Or at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival.

Kentish plover Species of bird

The Kentish plover is a small cosmopolitan shorebird of the family Charadriidae that breeds on the shores of saline lakes, lagoons, and coasts, populating sand dunes, marshes, semi-arid desert, and tundra. Both male and female birds have pale plumages with a white underside, grey/brown back, dark legs and a dark bill, however additionally the male birds also exhibit very dark incomplete breast bands, and dark markings either side of their head, therefore the Kentish plover is regarded as sexually dimorphic

Alexander Tulloch Macqueen is an English actor. He has appeared on television, film and radio in the UK in productions such as Holby City, Doctor Who,Hut 33, Peep Show, The Thick of It, Keeping Mum, and The Inbetweeners. He also guest-starred in The Durrells in Series 4.

Silver Appleyard Breed of duck

The Silver Appleyard is a British breed of domestic duck. It was bred in the first half of the twentieth century by Reginald Appleyard, with the aim of creating a dual-purpose breed that would provide both a good quantity of meat and plenty of eggs.

<i>Galileo</i> (1975 film) 1975 British film

Galileo is a 1975 biographical film about the 16th- and 17th-century scientist Galileo Galilei, whose astronomical observations with the newly invented telescope led to a profound conflict with the Roman Catholic Church. The film is an adaptation of Bertolt Brecht's 1943 play of the same name. The film was produced by Ely Landau for the American Film Theatre, which presented thirteen film adaptations of plays in the United States from 1973 to 1975. Brecht's play was recently called a "masterpiece" by veteran theater critic Michael Billington, as Martin Esslin had in 1960. The film's director, Joseph Losey, had also directed the first performances of the play in 1947 in the US — with Brecht's active participation. The film is fairly true to those first performances, and is thus of historical significance as well.

<i>Dracula: A Chamber Musical</i>

Dracula: A Chamber Musical is a 1997 Canadian musical adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The book and lyrics are by Richard Ouzounian and the music and orchestration are by Marek Norman. After premiering at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1997, Dracula in 1999 became the first Canadian musical to be staged at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

India Longford UK soap opera character, created 2009

India Longford is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Beth Kingston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 September 2009 and was introduced by series producer Lucy Allan as a new student at Hollyoaks Community College. Kingston was given the role after she entered and won an online competition run by Hollyoaks Desperately Seeking. In November 2010, it was announced that India would be murdered. India was murdered by Silas Blissett on 23 December 2010. India returned in 2011 when Texas portrayed her in a reconstruction of her death. India again returned in 2012. Kingston has stated that she was happy to leave the show before being typecast in the role. India has been portrayed as a "posh bird" and is narrow-minded, having a tendency to "rub people up the wrong way". She is also described as sensible and "strait-laced".

Marek Losey is a British film and television director; he is the third generation of film maker in the Losey family.

Anna Murphy is a Scottish film producer.

References

  1. 1 2 Grigg-Spall, Holly (2008) "The Hide", Channel 4
  2. Mitchell, Wendy (2008) "Losey wraps shoot for debut thriller The Hide", Screen Daily, 11 January 2008
  3. Kent Film Office. "Kent Film Office The Hide Film Focus".
  4. Harkness, Alistair (2009) "Film review: The Hide", The Scotsman , 14 August 2009
  5. Quinn, Anthony (2009) "The Hide", The Independent , 5 June 2009
  6. Christopher, James (2009) "The Hide", The Times , 4 June 2009
  7. French, Philip (2009) "The Hide", The Observer , 7 June 2009
  8. Jenkins, David (2009) "The Hide", Time Out , 3–10 June 2009
  9. Hunter, Allan (2009) "Film Review - The Hide", Daily Express , 5 June 2009