Albatross (film)
Encyclopedia
Albatross is a 2011 British coming-of-age
comedy
drama film
directed by Niall MacCormick
and written by Tamzin Rafn. It stars Sebastian Koch
, Julia Ormond
, Felicity Jones
and Jessica Brown-Findlay
. The film's premise revolves around a teenage aspiring writer entering the lives of a dysfunctional family living in the south coast of England. "Albatross
" is a metaphor used to describe a constant and inescapable burden.
The film was shot entirely on the Isle of Man
with the support of the Island's government. It is MacCormick's feature film debut, having previously made his name in television. Also making her debut is screenwriter Tamzin Rafn. Rafn based the script on her own experiences as a rebellious teenager.
Albatross premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
in June 2011 to positive reviews. Brown-Findlay has received near-universal praise for her performance. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2011.
) takes a job as a cleaner in a seaside hotel owned by Jonathan (Sebastian Koch
), a middle-aged author with writer's block. His wife, Joa (Julia Ormond
), has given up her acting career to run the hotel, while his daughter, Beth (Felicity Jones
), plans to study medicine at Oxford. Emelia becomes friends with Beth but also begins an affair with Beth's father after they connect over a love of books.
's debut feature film and the first screenplay by Tamzin Rafn. According to Rafn, the script was optioned by producer Marc Samuelson
and CinemaNX about three weeks after her agent sent it out. It was then sent out to directors, some of whom Rafn met. She said MacCormick was one of her favourites and was "really glad" when the script was offered to him.
The film's recurring theme, one's desire to escape from something holding her back, is derived from Rafn's personal experiences. Rafn grew up in the quiet town of Worthing
on the south coast of England and spent her teenage years wanting to leave. According to her, "pushing the boundaries came as a result of that being an actuality in my teens. It just so turns out that being a nightmare comes naturally to me. And writing Emilia was like writing a version of myself but adding characteristics to make it filmic and that meant giving her some tragedy and heart to explain her behaviour."
Rafn credited Diablo Cody
as inspiration for her to write about her own experiences. Cody began her foray into writing by penning a memoir about her career as a stripper. She later won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
for the film Juno
. Rafn said, "What I did know about though was naughty girls in seaside towns. I knew that because I’d been one and I always loved movies about people who misbehaved... So I sat down and I thought about everything I loved in movies. That list ran to: naughty girls, seaside towns, writers and scandalous behaviour. I then watched every movie that fitted that for me – The Wonder Boys
, The Squid and the Whale
, Wish You Were Here
, The Door in the Floor
, Thirteen
."
The film marks Jessica Brown-Findlay
's first starring role in a major production. She was reportedly cast before she began filming in the successful television series Downton Abbey
. While auditioning for Alice in Wonderland
, Brown-Findlay found an agent who led her to the script of Albatross. MacCormick wanted "a girl who could tell someone to f*** off and die and for the audience to still feel they were actually quite charming" for the film's central role, Emelia. Brown-Findlay said she adored the role and "decided to be Emelia both inside and outside the audition room." MacCormick was shocked to find out that she was actually nothing like the character when the cast began filming in 2009. Brown-Findlay said Emilia and Lady Sybil, her role in Downtown Abbey, are "both going to grow into strong women. They're finding out who they are and what they're going to be." She admitted the characters are "very different," and that Emilia has "got that same guts that Sybil has - just in a much more overtly obvious way, she's ballsy. She doesn't have a filter system - if she thinks something, she says it. She doesn't have that restraint that Sybil has."
Brown-Findlay is close friends with co-star Felicity Jones
, whom she met at auditions. Jones was cast as the introverted Beth. "I should probably say I was very different to her aged 17. I would sound a lot cooler. But I like the way Beth is an observer," she said.
Sebastian Koch
's part as Jonathan is only the second English-speaking role of the German actor's career, which spans more than two decades. Of Brown-Findlay, Koch said "She started with this film, and did it wonderfully – just to see these first steps was wonderful for me, and perhaps to help and support her a bit. She’s really brilliant in the film; she’s Emelia, exactly what the script wanted."
, which was used to portray the film's small coastal town setting. Among the locations used in the film were historic house Ravencliffe near Douglas Head
and Port St Mary harbour.
The Isle's Minister for Economic Development Allan Bell
said the film showcases "the beauty and diversity of locations that the Island has to offer film-makers... One of the many considerations that come into play when we are considering involvement in a film project is how well the script fits the natural locations of the Island and in how many ways the Island can benefit from any possible collaboration. Albatross ticked all the boxes and we are thrilled to be associated with a film of such quality and appeal."
The film was shot in 2009 and took six weeks to complete.
in June 2011. The trailer debuted on guardian.co.uk
's film section on 2 August 2011. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2011.
s Charles Gant praised the performances of Brown-Findlay, Koch and Ormond and described director MacCormick's debut effort as "amiable." Adele Brunnhofer of Celluloid Heroes Radio said Albatross had the usual hallmarks from coming-of-age movies, but "its dialogue and the acting are quick-witted enough to keep the plot from becoming too predictable." Adam Whyte agreed that the plot is nothing original, "so it comes down to the scripting, direction and acting, and all three are surprisingly engaging." Jamie Neish praised the film's visuals, music and acting, saying "[t]he performances across the board are sublime." The Film Pilgrim's David Whitehead praised Brown-Findlay, Jones and Ormond, but said Koch was "disappointingly unengaged." He said the film had "moments of great humour" but is "ultimately unsatisfying."
Upon release in the UK, the film has received less enthusiastic reviews. The Guardian
s Peter Bradshaw gave the film 2/5 stars; he praised Brown-Findlay's star-power, but called the film's premise "sentimental and unreal." Philip French said, "Heavy-handed and unconvincing, it's Fawlty Towers without the jokes." The Independent
s Anthony Quinn criticised the film's lack of believability, saying it "has a puppyish eagerness that doesn't quite deliver." Chris Tookey from the Daily Mail
said the script was "is predictable and too much like Wish You Were Here
, My Summer of Love
and An Education
," and gave it 2/5 stars. Jasper Rees of The Arts Desk said the story "teeters swiftly into the realms of the implausible... In the mean time it gives one no pleasure to report that a film about the burning desire to write could have done a lot more time in the oven." It was given 3/5 stars by Empire, with a verdict: "A startling performace from Findlay doesn't quite make up for a disappointing third act."
Coming-of-age film
Coming-of-age film is a film genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood. Personal growth and change is an important characteristic of this genre, which relies on dialogue and emotional responses, rather than action. The main character is...
comedy
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Niall MacCormick
Niall MacCormick
Niall MacCormick is a British film and television director.-External links:...
and written by Tamzin Rafn. It stars Sebastian Koch
Sebastian Koch
-Life and career:Koch was born in Karlsruhe and grew up in Stuttgart. His mother raised him alone, and he spent some time in the children's home where she worked...
, Julia Ormond
Julia Ormond
Julia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
, Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones is an English actress from Birmingham. She is best known to television audiences for her role as the school bully Ethel Hallow in the first series of The Worst Witch and its sequel Weirdsister College...
and Jessica Brown-Findlay
Jessica Brown-Findlay
Jessica Brown-Findlay is an English actress. She plays the character of Lady Sybil Crawley in ITV's Downton Abbey.Brown-Findlay trained with the National Youth Ballet and the Associates of the Royal Ballet...
. The film's premise revolves around a teenage aspiring writer entering the lives of a dysfunctional family living in the south coast of England. "Albatross
Albatross (metaphor)
The word 'albatross' is sometimes used metaphorically to mean a psychological burden that feels like a curse. It is an allusion to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ....
" is a metaphor used to describe a constant and inescapable burden.
The film was shot entirely on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
with the support of the Island's government. It is MacCormick's feature film debut, having previously made his name in television. Also making her debut is screenwriter Tamzin Rafn. Rafn based the script on her own experiences as a rebellious teenager.
Albatross premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
in June 2011 to positive reviews. Brown-Findlay has received near-universal praise for her performance. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2011.
Plot
Aspiring writer Emelia (Jessica Brown-FindlayJessica Brown-Findlay
Jessica Brown-Findlay is an English actress. She plays the character of Lady Sybil Crawley in ITV's Downton Abbey.Brown-Findlay trained with the National Youth Ballet and the Associates of the Royal Ballet...
) takes a job as a cleaner in a seaside hotel owned by Jonathan (Sebastian Koch
Sebastian Koch
-Life and career:Koch was born in Karlsruhe and grew up in Stuttgart. His mother raised him alone, and he spent some time in the children's home where she worked...
), a middle-aged author with writer's block. His wife, Joa (Julia Ormond
Julia Ormond
Julia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
), has given up her acting career to run the hotel, while his daughter, Beth (Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones is an English actress from Birmingham. She is best known to television audiences for her role as the school bully Ethel Hallow in the first series of The Worst Witch and its sequel Weirdsister College...
), plans to study medicine at Oxford. Emelia becomes friends with Beth but also begins an affair with Beth's father after they connect over a love of books.
Cast
- Jessica Brown-FindlayJessica Brown-FindlayJessica Brown-Findlay is an English actress. She plays the character of Lady Sybil Crawley in ITV's Downton Abbey.Brown-Findlay trained with the National Youth Ballet and the Associates of the Royal Ballet...
as Emelia - Sebastian KochSebastian Koch-Life and career:Koch was born in Karlsruhe and grew up in Stuttgart. His mother raised him alone, and he spent some time in the children's home where she worked...
as Jonathan Fischer - Julia OrmondJulia OrmondJulia Karin Ormond is an English actress who has appeared in film and television and on stage.-Early life and education:...
as Joa Fischer - Felicity JonesFelicity JonesFelicity Jones is an English actress from Birmingham. She is best known to television audiences for her role as the school bully Ethel Hallow in the first series of The Worst Witch and its sequel Weirdsister College...
as Beth Fischer - Peter VaughanPeter VaughanPeter Vaughan is an English character actor, known for many supporting roles in a variety of British film and television productions. He has worked extensively on the stage, becoming known for roles such as police inspectors, Soviet agents and similar parts...
as Grandpa
Production
Albatross is BAFTA-nominated director Niall MacCormickNiall MacCormick
Niall MacCormick is a British film and television director.-External links:...
's debut feature film and the first screenplay by Tamzin Rafn. According to Rafn, the script was optioned by producer Marc Samuelson
Marc Samuelson
Marc Samuelson is a British TV and film producer and executive producer.-Life and career:He was born in 1961, and is a Business School graduate. Son of Sydney Samuelson. He has two brothers...
and CinemaNX about three weeks after her agent sent it out. It was then sent out to directors, some of whom Rafn met. She said MacCormick was one of her favourites and was "really glad" when the script was offered to him.
Writing
Tamzin Rafn wrote the screenplay of Albatross on weekends over the course of three months while working full time during the weekdays.The film's recurring theme, one's desire to escape from something holding her back, is derived from Rafn's personal experiences. Rafn grew up in the quiet town of Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
on the south coast of England and spent her teenage years wanting to leave. According to her, "pushing the boundaries came as a result of that being an actuality in my teens. It just so turns out that being a nightmare comes naturally to me. And writing Emilia was like writing a version of myself but adding characteristics to make it filmic and that meant giving her some tragedy and heart to explain her behaviour."
Rafn credited Diablo Cody
Diablo Cody
Brook Busey , better known by the pen name Diablo Cody, is an American screenwriter, writer, blogger, journalist, and author. She was first known for her candid chronicling of her year as a stripper in her Pussy Ranch blog and her 2006 memoir, Candy Girl: A Year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper...
as inspiration for her to write about her own experiences. Cody began her foray into writing by penning a memoir about her career as a stripper. She later won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay
Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay)
The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. Before 1940, there was an Academy Award for Best Story for writing. For 1940, it and the award in this article were separated into two awards. Beginning with the...
for the film Juno
Juno (film)
Juno is a 2007 comedy-drama film directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Ellen Page stars as the title character, an independent-minded teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent events that put pressures of adult life onto her. Michael Cera, Olivia Thirlby, J. K....
. Rafn said, "What I did know about though was naughty girls in seaside towns. I knew that because I’d been one and I always loved movies about people who misbehaved... So I sat down and I thought about everything I loved in movies. That list ran to: naughty girls, seaside towns, writers and scandalous behaviour. I then watched every movie that fitted that for me – The Wonder Boys
Wonder Boys (film)
Wonder Boys is a dark comedy film based on the 1995 novel of the same title by Michael Chabon. Directed by Curtis Hanson, it stars Michael Douglas as professor Grady Tripp, a novelist who teaches creative writing at an unnamed Pittsburgh university...
, The Squid and the Whale
The Squid and the Whale
The Squid and the Whale is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Noah Baumbach and produced by Wes Anderson. It tells the semi-autobiographical story of two boys in Brooklyn dealing with their parents' divorce in the 1980s. The film is named after a giant squid and sperm whale diorama...
, Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (1987 film)
Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British drama/comedy film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. The film was written and directed by David Leland. The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.-Plot:...
, The Door in the Floor
The Door in the Floor
The Door in the Floor is a 2004 American drama film written and directed by Tod Williams. The screenplay is based on the first third of the 1998 novel A Widow for One Year by John Irving.-Plot:...
, Thirteen
Thirteen (film)
Thirteen is a 2003 American drama film directed by Catherine Hardwicke, and written by Hardwicke and Nikki Reed, the film's co-star. The film also stars Evan Rachel Wood and Holly Hunter. It is a semi-autobiographical film inspired by Reed's life at age 12 and 13 with Wood's character "Tracy" being...
."
Casting
Casting director Shaheen Baig reportedly resisted pressure to include major stars.The film marks Jessica Brown-Findlay
Jessica Brown-Findlay
Jessica Brown-Findlay is an English actress. She plays the character of Lady Sybil Crawley in ITV's Downton Abbey.Brown-Findlay trained with the National Youth Ballet and the Associates of the Royal Ballet...
's first starring role in a major production. She was reportedly cast before she began filming in the successful television series Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey
Downton Abbey is a British television period drama series, produced by NBC Universal-owned British media company Carnival Films for the ITV network. The series is set during the late Edwardian era and the First World War on the fictional estate of Downton Abbey in Yorkshire, and features an...
. While auditioning for Alice in Wonderland
Alice in Wonderland (2010 film)
Alice in Wonderland is a 2010 American computer-animated/live action fantasy adventure film directed by Tim Burton, written by Linda Woolverton, and released by Walt Disney Pictures...
, Brown-Findlay found an agent who led her to the script of Albatross. MacCormick wanted "a girl who could tell someone to f*** off and die and for the audience to still feel they were actually quite charming" for the film's central role, Emelia. Brown-Findlay said she adored the role and "decided to be Emelia both inside and outside the audition room." MacCormick was shocked to find out that she was actually nothing like the character when the cast began filming in 2009. Brown-Findlay said Emilia and Lady Sybil, her role in Downtown Abbey, are "both going to grow into strong women. They're finding out who they are and what they're going to be." She admitted the characters are "very different," and that Emilia has "got that same guts that Sybil has - just in a much more overtly obvious way, she's ballsy. She doesn't have a filter system - if she thinks something, she says it. She doesn't have that restraint that Sybil has."
Brown-Findlay is close friends with co-star Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones
Felicity Jones is an English actress from Birmingham. She is best known to television audiences for her role as the school bully Ethel Hallow in the first series of The Worst Witch and its sequel Weirdsister College...
, whom she met at auditions. Jones was cast as the introverted Beth. "I should probably say I was very different to her aged 17. I would sound a lot cooler. But I like the way Beth is an observer," she said.
Sebastian Koch
Sebastian Koch
-Life and career:Koch was born in Karlsruhe and grew up in Stuttgart. His mother raised him alone, and he spent some time in the children's home where she worked...
's part as Jonathan is only the second English-speaking role of the German actor's career, which spans more than two decades. Of Brown-Findlay, Koch said "She started with this film, and did it wonderfully – just to see these first steps was wonderful for me, and perhaps to help and support her a bit. She’s really brilliant in the film; she’s Emelia, exactly what the script wanted."
Filming
Albatross was filmed entirely on the Isle of ManIsle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, which was used to portray the film's small coastal town setting. Among the locations used in the film were historic house Ravencliffe near Douglas Head
Douglas Head
Douglas Head is a rocky point on the Isle of Man overlooking Douglas Bay and harbour. Views extend to include Snaefell Mountain and Laxey-General:...
and Port St Mary harbour.
The Isle's Minister for Economic Development Allan Bell
Allan Bell
The Honourable Allan Robert Bell MHK is a Manx politician, who is the current Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, having been elected to that position on October 11, 2011. He was formerly the Minister for Economic Development of the Isle of Man Government and is Member of the House of Keys for...
said the film showcases "the beauty and diversity of locations that the Island has to offer film-makers... One of the many considerations that come into play when we are considering involvement in a film project is how well the script fits the natural locations of the Island and in how many ways the Island can benefit from any possible collaboration. Albatross ticked all the boxes and we are thrilled to be associated with a film of such quality and appeal."
The film was shot in 2009 and took six weeks to complete.
Promotion and release
Albatross premiered at the 2011 Edinburgh International Film FestivalEdinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
in June 2011. The trailer debuted on guardian.co.uk
Guardian.co.uk
guardian.co.uk, formerly known as Guardian Unlimited, is a British website owned by the Guardian Media Group. Georgina Henry is the editor...
's film section on 2 August 2011. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2011.
Critical response
Albatross was well-received by critics at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Ross Miller said the film was "cute without being schmaltzy, sweet without being sickly, insightful without being preachy" and "destined to be one of the most talked about and beloved British films of the year." VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
s Charles Gant praised the performances of Brown-Findlay, Koch and Ormond and described director MacCormick's debut effort as "amiable." Adele Brunnhofer of Celluloid Heroes Radio said Albatross had the usual hallmarks from coming-of-age movies, but "its dialogue and the acting are quick-witted enough to keep the plot from becoming too predictable." Adam Whyte agreed that the plot is nothing original, "so it comes down to the scripting, direction and acting, and all three are surprisingly engaging." Jamie Neish praised the film's visuals, music and acting, saying "[t]he performances across the board are sublime." The Film Pilgrim's David Whitehead praised Brown-Findlay, Jones and Ormond, but said Koch was "disappointingly unengaged." He said the film had "moments of great humour" but is "ultimately unsatisfying."
Upon release in the UK, the film has received less enthusiastic reviews. The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Peter Bradshaw gave the film 2/5 stars; he praised Brown-Findlay's star-power, but called the film's premise "sentimental and unreal." Philip French said, "Heavy-handed and unconvincing, it's Fawlty Towers without the jokes." The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
s Anthony Quinn criticised the film's lack of believability, saying it "has a puppyish eagerness that doesn't quite deliver." Chris Tookey from the Daily Mail
Daily Mail
The Daily Mail is a British daily middle-market tabloid newspaper owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust. First published in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, it is the United Kingdom's second biggest-selling daily newspaper after The Sun. Its sister paper The Mail on Sunday was launched in 1982...
said the script was "is predictable and too much like Wish You Were Here
Wish You Were Here (1987 film)
Wish You Were Here is a 1987 British drama/comedy film starring Emily Lloyd and Tom Bell. The film was written and directed by David Leland. The original music score was composed by Stanley Myers.-Plot:...
, My Summer of Love
My Summer of Love
My Summer of Love is a 2004 British drama film directed by Pawel Pawlikowski and co-written by Pawel Pawlikowski and Michael Wynne. Based on the novel of the same name by Helen Cross, the film explores the relationship between two young women from different classes and backgrounds...
and An Education
An Education
An Education is a 2009 British coming-of-age drama film, based on an autobiographical article in Granta by British journalist Lynn Barber. The film was directed by Lone Scherfig from a screenplay by Nick Hornby, and stars Carey Mulligan as Jenny, a bright schoolgirl, and Peter Sarsgaard as David,...
," and gave it 2/5 stars. Jasper Rees of The Arts Desk said the story "teeters swiftly into the realms of the implausible... In the mean time it gives one no pleasure to report that a film about the burning desire to write could have done a lot more time in the oven." It was given 3/5 stars by Empire, with a verdict: "A startling performace from Findlay doesn't quite make up for a disappointing third act."