HUNGER
And he was like "well 1981 was the year in my life that I remember. The Brixton riots kicked off. Tottenharn won the l’/\ cup and there was this guy called Bobby Sands on the news ever day who had such a powerful effect on society and the government and I wanted to make a film about it." So I was like "()K. and I want to make a film with you." There‘s such a humanin about Steve that makes you want to work with him‘ Written by linda Diseu Pigs Walsh and McQueen. Hunger is a lyrical. detailed and brutal portrait of prison life and recent British history and an all too prescient lesson in how not to deal with freedom fighters or terrorists (depending on which side of the sectarian or otherwise divide that you stand). The film is. however. crucially underpinned by a long single take in which Sands meets Cunningham‘s liather Dominic Moran in the empty prison canteen. After initial humourous banter. Sands reveals that he is going to lead a new hunger strike to protest for the reintroduction of special category status for Republican prisoners. The conversation turns into a battle of words in which Moran tries to change Sands‘ mind. It‘s an unforgettable scene. at its mention Cunningham places his cigarette upright on the table and gently sweeps the discarded ashes in to a small hillock. His moment to proselytise has come. “The script was so good. I mean it‘s beautiful writing. it‘s a very delicate and a fantastic scene written by someone who wants to ask very tough
and difficult to reply to questions.’ Years of
treading the boards and finding his motivation have given Ctrnningham a winning candour. He continues. 'lirom a technical viewpoint I thought it was going to be a nightmare anyway. but when
I arrived to Belfast. Steve said: "I‘m thinking of
shooting the scene in one shot." I said “Are you out of your fucking mind?" And he said. “No. it will be good.“
liassbender gives Cunningham a sideways glance and butts in. all the time fiddling with the bright green straws in his now empty glass. ‘lt‘s such a muscular layered piece of writing that we knew we couldn’t muck about with it too much — you start breaking it tip and you lose the rhythm.
you lose the texture and all the different sort of
colours in that piece. you know‘."
Without missing a beat Ctmningham continues his acting masterclass: ‘Yeah. so because I hadn’t met Michael before. and because we only had five days to rehearse the scene. we had to move in with each other. livery morning Michael would get up and make porridge and then we would rtrn over the scene again and again to just break it down and get it into our bones. Steve was shooting during the day. He would come in the evening and give us notes and we would discuss certain pieces. When it came to shoot the
20 THE LIST Iif) Oct 11% Nov 9008
‘THERE'S A HUMANITY ABOUT STEVE THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO WORK WITH HIM'
scene. we were ready.‘
lior a first time director. McQueen has certainly managed to install a loyalty in his experienced cast. warmed by his friends considered lotjuaciousness liassbender adds. ‘You know when you‘re working with an artist . . . I don't know. its just different. They talk to you differently. it‘s a different concept of how they‘re making a film. When I‘m working with Steve its all encompassing. it‘s all the senses. smell. taste. touch. each sense is equally important to him you can see that in the working process. Also. the notes that he gives you are just sort of very texttrred notes. simple notes. coarse notes. It was a real pleasure working with him. and ljttst feel
Clockwise from left: Liam Cunningham’s Father Moran, the Maze guards take a welcome break. director Steve McQueen
happy that it happened once in my career.~
Cttnningham quickly fills the silence left by liassbcnder’s demonstrations. ‘By contrast I was in The ll’im/ That Shakes I/I(’ Barley and Ken [Loachl kind of throws you in the deep end. He gives you historical pointers btrt you don‘t get a fucking script so that makes you work really hard to get inside the character. With Steve it's just two human beings talking in a room. To a certain extent the priest is a device to explore Sands’ commitment to what he is about to do. It’s extraordinary and intelligent. The priest cant understand why he would put his life in the hands of those who despise him. Sands believes. as he says. that he is the last line of defence. The way Sands has set up the hunger strike — where people take his place when he dies he is basically signing his own death warrant. and that is suicide. As two Catholic men. that‘s not an easy topic of conversation. The priest is on his side bttt saying “Don’t fucking do this. I completely disagree." What it shows is courage of conviction.‘
Hunger is a stunning film. one that easily slots into the roll call of great prison-set dramas like Pupil/ion. Silent Sereum. Rio! in Cell Blue/r II and Cool Hand Luke. but is also tempered by a lyricism most evident in the works of artist/directors Jean Cocteau. Salvador Dali. Julian Schnabel and even Warhol. Like all good stories from the not so distant but more brtttalised past. it shines a light on these times.
‘What you have to remember" —— Cunningham offers as a closing salvo as the pair rise from the table strewn with the debris of hangover recovery — 'is that at the time. outside the prisons there was no support for this. Obviously the British and Irish governments didn‘t want it to start. but neither did the IRA or Sinn l‘ein. l'ltimately. however. many people saw what Margaret Thatcher did as murder and said: 'These folk just want their fucking clothes. and free association. they're not asking for much." But she was like “I ain‘t gonna give it to ye." If you force someone into a position where they have to kill themselves to destroy you. that’s an enemy you are not going to beat. So you have to ask one question “Why do you hate me so mtrch that you would do that to their"
Hunger is on selected release from Fri 31 Oct. See review, page 43.