VERA DRAKE

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  • VERA DRAKE

    Has anyone seen this film, and if so, any comments, especially about the third act and the subtle class distinctions used to articulate the hypocrisy of a society, at the time, where women of means had options, while Vera's character simply performed the same service... out of empathy... not for material gain as her procurer of assignments and Medical Doctors did?

    I found this to be the underlying "linchpin" that held the entire theme together? That, integrated with a character study of Vera herself and blue collar Great Britain in the wake of World War Two!

    Any thoughts on this film and Imelda Staunton's performance... I thought it and the film absorbing at first and then riveting!:hat

  • #2
    I am surprised nobody responded seeing that Writer/Director Mike Leigh filmed this project without a script!

    The movie was nominated for a "Best Original Screenplay" Oscar in 2005 and Leigh had to pen a script for the judges... in actuality the film is the script!:lol

    That's funny!:rollin

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    • #3
      yeah, mike leigh always works that way. he rehearses with the actors for about a month before they shoot, doing improvs (not the funny kind) based on the ideas for the scenes until they come up with what they like and then they shoot it.

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      • #4
        It's a good film, with fine performances, but somewhat disingenuous.

        Backstreet abortion tended to be brutal, and was rarely - if ever - and act of skilled philanthropy. If Mike Leigh wanted to portray Vera Drake sympathetically he should have at least shown the reality of her profession (but I suspect this was nixed because it would have cost the character audience sympathy).

        I could be wrong... but never am. :eek

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        • #5
          WOLFY262- I think your right about that fact... that being that it was a somewhat "brutal" and "hard" environment populated, to a large extent, by callous and greed driven people... such as Vera's friend who supplied her with names of girls in trouble without ever letting Vera know she was being compensated.

          This character was the "personification" of that callousness and inhumanity that drives many people like this!

          While, at the same time contrasting Vera's main crime, that of harboring a near obsessive desire to help others in trouble!

          Thanks for the responses, WOLFY262, yours was particularly thought provoking!:hat

          I think ya'll pilgrims will do just fine!:lol

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          • #6
            Re: VERA DRAKE

            Finally caught this on DVD and it was one of the most moving dramas I've seen in quite some time, bringing me to my knees emotionally time and time again.

            Wolfy's POV on these abortions notwithstanding, Vera was drawn as a philanthropist who'd been deeply moved by her own experience with an unwanted pregnancy. Her acts were never motivated by greed or political agenda, but to help the young women who had no where else to turn. That may not represent a majority of these abortionists, but it is not unfair to suggest that such a women did exist. Leigh certainly doesn't make it seem as though they're all so kind-hearted ... the scene in prison shows just the opposite ... the other perps are hardened convicts.

            The character of her son was a fine example of the black and white picture of abortion that many attempt to draw even today. Yet the entire film was so subtle, so restrained, so honest, it never felt like an overt political statement. Some issue films pound it home while this one humanizes all involved ... victims, perpetrators, family, and the law.

            Imelda Staunton's performance was a tour de force. Her nonverbal cues were more powerful than anything she said. The shot in which the police show up at her daughter's engagement party as the camera stays on a close-up of Vera ... and her face evolves from confusion to realization to fear to despair all with just the finest of movements was a thing of beauty. A shot I'll not soon forget.
            http://confoundedfilms.com

            http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

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            • #7
              Re: VERA DRAKE

              This thread predates the new Done Deal website (new on 5/6/05) - how the hell did you access it, Hairy?
              Just one more reason to get hammered tonight.


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              • #8
                Re: VERA DRAKE

                Frequently Asked Questions board contains threads that predate the New DD.

                Or maybe Hairy can just do stuff.
                "I ask every producer I meet if they need TV specs they say yeah. They all want a 40 inch display that's 1080p and 120Hz. So, I quit my job at the West Hollywood Best Buy."
                - Screenwriting Friend

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                • #9
                  Re: VERA DRAKE

                  Wow, that's a ridiculously long way to go to avoid starting a new thread.

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                  • #10
                    Re: VERA DRAKE

                    For me, the weakest and least-involving of Leigh's films (both features and TV films). Staunton is a fine character actress, her range best put to use in "The Singing Detective".

                    "Drake" was an entirely predictable slice-of-life drama without the fine, unexpected edges that mark the best of Leigh's work (for me his TV stuff from the 70s is among the best). "Secrets and Lies" has all the subtlety that "Drake" misses. This was far too broadly drawn for me to consider it top-drawer Mike Leigh.

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                    • #11
                      Re: VERA DRAKE

                      Originally posted by Salazkin
                      This thread predates the new Done Deal website (new on 5/6/05) - how the hell did you access it, Hairy?
                      http://64.78.28.161/boards/archive/index.php
                      Jesus, if this guy owned a funeral parlor nobody would die!

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                      • #12
                        Re: VERA DRAKE

                        I had heard that Staunton was the only actor who knew the police were coming to the dinner celebration scene. Wow.

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                        • #13
                          Re: VERA DRAKE

                          Nobody knew the police were coming. She was the only one who knew why they were there. It was a very powerful scene.

                          Jake, your post prompted me to look over Leigh's credits. I've only seen one other thing he's directed ... the musical comedy biopic Topsy-Turvy. Obviously, that film did not prepare me for the nuanced drama that is Vera Drake. You may have found Vera Drake obvious and unsubtle, but I found it a revelation. A master director when it comes to handling actors - there wasn't a false note in this film. He's also very patient with the camera, which no doubt comes from having grown up before MTV. I suppose I'm in for a real treat if I can get ahold of any of his old British teleplays. It's always a joy discovering a new director worth watching ... not that he's new, of course, but Topsy-Turvy didn't make me run out and watch everything he's ever done ... Vera Drake might.
                          http://confoundedfilms.com

                          http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

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                          • #14
                            Re: VERA DRAKE

                            Features Mike Leigh has directed (does not include extensive TV work in the UK):

                            Vera Drake (2004)
                            All or Nothing (2002/I)
                            Topsy-Turvy (1999)
                            Career Girls (1997)
                            Secrets & Lies (1996)
                            Naked (1993)
                            Life Is Sweet (1990)
                            High Hopes (1988)

                            All are worth seeing more than once. It is true that Staunton was the only character who knew the police were coming. Leigh's methods are to bring in his actors (often the same ones he's worked with before), give them the basic outlines of the story and their characters' roles, and send them to explore their characters for six months. Then he brings them back and starts directing.

                            In "Secrets and Lies" Brenda Blethyn didn't know the "secret" until the fateful meeting scene (I won't give away more for those who haven't seen it).

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