FEATURE LIST
search for finance. along with the explained that she had withdrawn Keaton as a kind ofurban eccentric. Yank in Local Hero had kind of lost more personally pleasurable from the film over a simple matter of a modern. very informed eccentric. himselfas well‘. All these characters experiences of travelling the length scheduling and regretted her Whereas Sylvie is kind of backward are in the same area btit what that
and breadth of America and departure. Forsyth emits a dry socially and intellectually.‘ leads me to believe is not so much i becominga father forthe first time. chuckle at the explanation. ‘Itwasa Housekeeping has finallyemerged that I tend to make filmsabout that j ‘Ifl had been calculatingon goingto matierofsehedulingin her head,[ as a Columbia filmand will now form kind of person but that everyone is America to make a movie. think. She liked the novel and said part of the legacy of David Puttnam‘s like that and I just tend to highlight { Haas/(“7,9154 would probably have shed liked the script but, in a normal brief tenure ofoffice. Christine Lahti it. I think I could make a detective 5 been the last thing I should have kind()ffilm-g[arry\yayShe'djust plays Sylvie and the finished entity is story or something like that andend l attempted to do,‘ he admits, ‘It went presumed that She was going to have one ofthe most faithful and graceful up having odd characters in it too.‘ l cvcryu'hcrc. [)isncy “‘crc very" very influence on it. She sent me pages of translations from [)2th [0 SCI'CCD CVCI‘ F0f$_\'lll$l10lllkl HUI llilVL‘ lULlClVL‘ interested to start off with. Virgin notes and. not knowing any better. acmmpliShed‘ 1‘ file! for “hieh deel‘l." it" the “dime” in his "em 3 were going to do it at one stage. so I‘d just mad them and pm [hem Forsyth is entirely unapologetic. ‘1 film. Rebecca's- Daughters which is were Hemdale. It was going to be a away. ldidn‘t know that what I was Suppose there are 1m." number 0f Sehedllled I“ licsin Production Canadian-Norwegian co-production supposed to do was re-write the Ways YOU can aPpmaeh 2‘ “(Wei in around ('umbernauld and l shooting halfof it in Norway believe script in order to put in all the kooky terms (“adapting it bl" I Simply Stirllngmlre “e-‘l Milleh- Bil-“ed 0“ 1‘ it or not. Someone suggested guing [mic scenes whch Sylvie was rm”). wanted to make a promotional Dylan 'l‘homas script. written whilst ; to Australia to make it. There were strange and wonderful. cooking movie for the book so I was quite he was under contract to video deals. tax monev. oil monev. strange meals for the girls. \V'hen “'ilfuny SlinSh ‘0 the heme I didn't Gainshormish l” the “MUN the film God knows what else i that exercise was not attended to it Want to even have an attitude to the tells of the 'l'ollgatc Rioters in Wales
One of the possible Housekeeping began to worry her. I think basically‘ book or use it as raw material.‘ in the 1840s who dressed tip at night
permutationsinvolved finance from Iforgot to woo her. But. it did work .MOSI 31“th e3” recall the "l thelr‘VlVeS‘ elml‘lngimd “We Cannon and Diane Keaton as Sylvie. out for the best and her instincts Cinematic abortions carried out on down the tollgates in protest against
a loner who ridesthe rails but triesto were certainlysharperthan mine. lhelreherl-‘hed kaS bl" Marilynne felldill rel’re-‘el‘m' The Pm‘meer l5 settle down in Fingerbone and keep The funny thing was that MariLVnne Reblns‘m has been unusually leek." (‘hrl‘ se‘emleh “ml l""r5}'lll hi”
house with her two nieces. At this was very uneasy about her doing it, in placing her faith in Forsyth. His written the new script. this time with year‘s Cannes Film Festival Keaton She quite accurately described unusual reSPeCl for her CTCZIIiVit)’ _ W i i 7 ' "um-—
V 'ifloa . ’ ; i -‘ fags ' , borders on the heretical. ‘Although ‘Quite wilfully slavish’ a! ,/ .tli ’ . '. z . ,
" V j' I . fl - j itsounds disrespectful to virtually —-—— v- . . -- —v »- ~— I 'v . ' e . . , everyone who helped me make the a less reverential attitude towards mm‘ especially the cast but if the original author. ‘l)ylan lhonias someone had the choice of reading was domg th‘c‘w “"9?” l‘" "mm." thc book or seeing thc film I would and you can I treat it on the same have {0 Sin. they Should mad thc level as you would treat his own
book. Personally speaking. there are "‘5‘"er “'f’rk' It “ "Cf-V "‘“med more levelsofcnjmmcm in thc hamtny. lt sexactly what you d book [think in amidrcumsmnccg a expect a Gainsborough movie to be. good read is better than a good film. I m 5”” h“ “N “u.” m” and “came that‘s a fairly glib statement watched some movies and then went and I might actually one day sit down {’2le and 21‘1"“ than “Ih‘” "19“
and try and figure (mt what] mean m. wanted. So. the _|t)l\'C.\ are overlong
sayingthat and seeing mm” fix it. and they're told about three times At the moment. I think that‘s Ihc each so it needs to be modernised way things are; psychologically. But. it’s a great big Although it is mere Speculation fun yarn. lhe main character is a one assumes that Forsyth was drawn young landowner who comes home i to thc Character of Svmc because of from overseas and finds out he's [he evident quirkmc'ss of her turned into an oppressorwithout behaviour andthc wavinwhich her knowingit. lle inheritshistather‘s inability to integrate ihm thc estates and a seat on the 'l‘ollgate
.___--_ 'l‘rust Boards. The woman that he's ‘ 9 supposed to marry. she‘s an ForgOt to WOO her aristocrat too. has some fire and some kind ofsocial consciousness narrowness ofsmalltown life is and berates him for sheepishly reminiscent ofthe way in which the 3 following his father‘s ways. So. be major figures in Forsyth's other films plays two characters. a kind of are often not at ease with themselves Superman figure. l lc becomes one
or their surroundings. However. of the rioters and tears down his own rather than being a filmmaker who guie.‘
chooses to explore the odd and With American backing and a unusual. Forsyth makes the broad historical canvas. Rebecca's distinction that he is someone Who Daughters sounds like another always finds eccentricity. however departure for Forsyth, {\Sde if he apparently anonymous the character plans a (‘eeil B. De Mine epie,
or mundane the surroundings. ‘i complete with revolting peasants. a think we‘re basically all odd. I think kind of ( 'omrailes with laughs. he we all have a tension between What replies ‘No. I think the tendency with we think we are and what other something historical is to stand back
people think we are. In Sylvie‘s case part of the t "“on was because she
or look on it as a spectacle. I'm very drawn to certain Robert Altman
had to start )rming for this little ' films like Buffalo Bill and the society round about her. including Indians. Md 'ahe and Mrs Miller and the girls. Someone said to me. ‘Why Thieves Like L's where historical
did YOU make SUCh a sad film 1" Andi events are treated in such a way that said. ‘Weil. I don‘t think it‘s any you’re completely drawn into the sadder than any 0f the Other films“ characters and not the spectacle .'
and they said. ‘But these poor little Clearly the film is already emerging girls have lOSt their mother and that's as another'product of Forsyth's
the worst thing that could happen‘ distineiive talents,
and I said . ‘Well. look what
happened to the other people; House/reeping is scheduled to open at Dickie Bird in Comfort and Joy had the ((117160 in Edinburgh and the
lost himself. he didn't know who he ('annon. .S'aiti‘hieha/l Street Glasgow was so that could be described as on 4 December. See (‘inema Listings
being in a worse situation or even the for Details.
The List 27 Nov — 10 Dec 1987 7