This is something that Manchester has been waiting for for quite a while, and one which started a little while ago with HOME premiering Mike Leigh's film Peterloo, and now Salford's Lowry Theatre hosting the Gala Premiere of Adrian Noble's debut film about L S Lowry and his relationship with his mother. Must we wait though for another historical film set in Greater Manchester before we see another premiere in the north of England? I hope not.
However, this evening it was indeed a star-studded occasion, as celebrities gathered in their droves to come and watch this beautifully constructed film with a short Q+A on stage after the screening. In attendance this evening was not only former RSC director Adrian Noble, but also the film's two stars, Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall.
The film itself, is very much like a stage play, [that is both its saving grace and its downfall at one and the same time; Noble obviously bringing his years of stage directing experience to bear on this film certainly makes it very dialogue-driven at times, but also brings out the absolute best from the film's co-stars] but with the occasional glimpse of cinematic possibilities thrown in. It's claustrophobic - deliberately so. The vast majority of the film is set in the small bedroom of Mrs Lowry, with the camera shooting portrait or mid-body shots in preference to anything. Even when we do see the whole room or two people together, it's very cluttered and fussy. This contrasts with the seldom forays into the countryside, and as Lowry hikes up a hill near Bolton the view behind him (why was it blurred?) came as quite a shock. Rain seems to be almost constant in 1930's Pendlbury too, as this is obviously being used as a metaphor for the relationship Laurence had with his mother. This is an independant film and produced obviously on a budget, however, there were at least two instances in the film where the CGI of buildings was noticably poor. A scene by the river with mill buildings and Lowry's view over the mill industry of Bolton were so obviously superimposed images that sadly they spoilt the film.
Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall however deliver immaculate performances. Redgrave's cynicism and cutting remarks - reminiscent perhaps of Alan Bennett - are perfectly placed and hit the bull every time. She is domineering and controlling, highly manipulative and selfish; it makes you wonder why anyone would put up with that. Spall however plays Lowry as a man who has accepted his lot in life, and his is to care for his mother, since it is all he knows. Working as a rent collector by day, and retiring to his attic studio at night as his release and way of expressing his innermost thoughts through his art.
This is a gentle docu-drama, which may or may not be entirely historically accurate. That doesn't really seem to matter though. What does matter is that this film shows how Lowry's mother did not approve of Lowry being an artist, and never liked any of his paintings, despite him painting them all for her. The film is set in the 1930s, just before Elizabeth Lowry's death and just as the art world was beginning to take note of L S Lowry and take an interest in his paintings. Despite his success and offers of knighthoods later in life, he would reject them all, and still live locally and modestly. What, he said, was the point if mother wasn't there to see it all happen.
The film does come across quite Oedipal in this regard, perhaps unintentionally, but it doesn't show Laurence doing anything other than at work, tending to his mother or painting. The only ephemeral glimpses we get of the man outside of this are when he plays with the children, or his one moment when talking about the bearded lady. We have no indication of his friendhsips, his social life or indeed what made him tick outside of painting. Again, perhaps this is a deliberate choice on the writer's part, as we are shown flashbacks of his life as a young boy, happy, playing on the beach with his mother. Do we simply take it that he is asexual and has not ever had a relationship with a female? But this film is not really about Laurence, it is more about Elizabeth. It is her relationship with him, her thoughts, her demands, which are the overriding memories I have of this film sat now at my desk writing this review. And if only a small portion of this is true, it makes you see and understand Lowry's paintings in a new light.
The film is most definitely worth watching for the beautifully nuanced and magnificent portrayals of Elizabeth and Laurence Lowry by Redgrave and Spall, and their on-screen chemistry is wonderful. but for me at least the story tends to drag, and doesn't really go very far. We learn little or nothing new after the first 20 minutes of the film, and since the film is a two-hander, very little screen time is given to any other character - even the 'sub-plot' of the rowing and newly-moved-to-the-area couple next door is reduced to a few short scenes and never developed.
It's moving, expertly acted, but slow moving and quite heavy going. A fitting tribute though to one of Britain's more enigmatic and individualistic artists.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 27/8/19
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