Mike Leigh

209 Pages·2.358 MB·English

by  Leigh, Mike, O'Sullivan, Sean

C O N T E M P O R A R Y F I L M D I R E C T O R S
Mike Leigh
Sean O’Sullivan
Mike Leigh
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Contemporary Film Directors
Edited by James Naremore
The Contemporary Film Directors series provides
concise, well-written introductions to directors from
around the world and from every level of the film industry.
Its chief aims are to broaden our awareness of important
artists, to give serious critical attention to their work, and
to illustrate the variety and vitality of contemporary cinema.
Contributors to the series include an array of internationally
respected critics and academics. Each volume contains
an incisive critical commentary, an informative interview
with the director, and a detailed filmography.
A list of books in the series appears
at the end of this book.
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Mike Leigh
Sean O’Sullivan
University
oF
iLLinois
Press
UrbaNa
ChICagO
aND
SprINgFIElD
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© 2011 by Sean Lawrence O’Sullivan
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Frontispiece: Mike Leigh on the set of Another Year, 2009.
Photograph by Simon Mein, copyright Thin Man Films Ltd.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
O’Sullivan, Sean, 1965–
Mike Leigh / Sean O’Sullivan.
p. cm. — (Contemporary film directors)
Includes filmography.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-252-03638-5 (cloth) — isbn 978-0-252-07819-4 (pbk.)
1. Leigh, Mike, 1943—Criticism and interpretation.
I. Title.
pn1998.3.l445o88 2011
791.43'0233092—dc22 2011004552
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Contents
Acknowledgments | ix
The Nature of Contrivance | 1
How to Watch a Mike Leigh Movie:
The Short and Curlies | 11
Biography and Career Outline | 33
Character and Plot: Meantime
and Four Days in July | 36
Art and Narrative: Naked and Secrets and Lies | 55
Topsy-Turvy Girls, Career Boys:
Career Girls and Topsy-Turvy | 80
Vera’s Fingers: All or Nothing and Vera Drake | 105
Five Lessons, Four Seasons:
Happy-Go-Lucky and Another Year | 132
Interview with Mike Leigh | 145
Filmography | 163
Bibliography | 177
Index | 181
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acknowledgments
Mike Leigh has been an ideal subject as both filmmaker and fellow—
from his warm response to my first letter of inquiry to the many hours he
donated to talk about cinema, art, and the world. I am deeply indebted to
him for all his contributions to the welfare of this study. Helen Grearson
and Abbie Browne at Thin Man Films offered unceasingly helpful and
cheerful logistical assistance.
James Naremore’s sharp-eyed editorial suggestions and his vast
patience were vital to this project. Joan Catapano and the staff at the
University of Illinois Press have been a pleasure to work with in shaping
the manuscript into a book.
My colleagues and friends at Clemson and Ohio State offered the
best kind of advice—sympathetic and direct—as my arguments devel-
oped. I never would have embarked on this study without the initial
invitation of Barton Palmer. Jared Gardner helped bring me to the
department that is my invigorating home, and his brightness and tech-
nical legerdemain have proven invaluable. Lorraine Cashman offered
her generous perspective on revisions, and Ray Cashman staged a trans-
atlantic rescue.
Two eminent figures provided timely jolts, at either end of the process.
Murray Pomerance’s active intervention kept the book on course, and
D. A. Miller’s exhortation made the final section of the essay possible.
Stanley Cavell’s Pursuits of Happiness was the book that first showed
me just how much there is to see, hear, and indeed pursue in the movies.
I am delighted that he served as one of the manuscript’s initial readers,
and I can only hope that some of his senses of viewing the world find
influential effects in these pages.
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