The Hide
Encyclopedia
The Hide is a 2008
film, the debut from director Marek Losey
, grandson of Joseph Losey
, who previously had an award-winning career as a director of advertisements. The film starred Alex MacQueen
and Phil Campbell, based on the stage play The Sociable Plover by Tim Whitnall
, who also wrote the screenplay. The film had the strapline "No Crime Stays Hidden Forever". Produced by Christopher Granier-Deferre and John Schwab
.
marshes owned by Roy Tunt (MacQueen). Roy is a middle-aged, obsessive bird watcher, who needs just one more sighting (of the Sociable Plover) to complete the entire British list of birds. He is unexpectedly joined by a dishevelled and tattooed stranger, who introduces himself as Dave John (Campbell). After an awkward start, the pair build up a rapport, share lunch, have a drink and discuss a wide variety of subjects. Roy tells David that he used to work in a poultry factory and that his wife left him for another man.
Roy's walkie-talkie picks up a police message about a local murder by someone fitting David's description. Dave is armed but his gun falls out of his pocket when he falls asleep and Roy takes it. Roy then confesses that he is the man wanted for murder; that the victims were his wife and her partner. He sickens David by describing how he disposed of the bodies in a poultry factory mincer, turning them into a paste which he has fed to David in the sandwiches they had shared earlier. Roy intends to blow up the police helicopter that is looking for him on the marsh. David tries to reason with Roy but the pair end up fighting. In the struggle, David steals his gun back and kills Roy.
MacQueen had previously played the role of Tunt in the stage version.
s Alistair Harkness described it as "an absorbing drama from two characters in a single location that simmers with menace and builds to a satisfyingly macabre conclusion". The Independent
s Anthony Quinn described it as "a modestly scaled but cleverly written chamber piece", and commented on "the superb underplaying by the two actors, Campbell coiled and terse, Macqueen prissily pedantic and controlling". James Christopher of The Times
described the interplay between the two protagonists: "Their arguments have the tension and rhythm of a classic black-box fringe play. It's a crude but enthralling duel with shades of Peter Schaffer's Sleuth
. Shades too of Hitchcock
’s Rope
." The Observer
s film critic Philip French identified influences from both Losey's grandfather and Harold Pinter
. Time Outs David Jenkins also compared the film to the work of Samuel Beckett
. Allan Hunter of the Daily Express
also raised Beckett comparisons and called it "moody, minimalist and well-observed".
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
film, the debut from director Marek Losey
Marek Losey
Marek Losey is a British-American film director and the third generation of film maker in the Losey family.-Background and early life:...
, grandson of Joseph Losey
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey was an American theater and film director. After studying in Germany with Bertolt Brecht, Losey returned to the United States, eventually making his way to Hollywood...
, who previously had an award-winning career as a director of advertisements. The film starred Alex MacQueen
Alex MacQueen
Alexander Tulloch MacQueen is an English actor. He has appeared on television, film and radio in the UK in productions such as Holby City, Hut 33, The Thick of It, and Keeping Mum....
and Phil Campbell, based on the stage play The Sociable Plover by Tim Whitnall
Tim Whitnall
Tim Whitnall , is a British actor, musician, playwright and screenwriter probably best known for his portrayal of the alien Angelo on the British CITV sitcom Mike and Angelo....
, who also wrote the screenplay. The film had the strapline "No Crime Stays Hidden Forever". Produced by Christopher Granier-Deferre and John Schwab
John Schwab
John Schwab is an American actor, TV producer and musician who was born in Pensacola, Florida and currently resides in London. He recently produced The Hide with Christopher Granier-Deferre, which was nominated for a BIFA 2010-Early life:...
.
Plot
The film is set in and around a bird-hide on the SuffolkSuffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
marshes owned by Roy Tunt (MacQueen). Roy is a middle-aged, obsessive bird watcher, who needs just one more sighting (of the Sociable Plover) to complete the entire British list of birds. He is unexpectedly joined by a dishevelled and tattooed stranger, who introduces himself as Dave John (Campbell). After an awkward start, the pair build up a rapport, share lunch, have a drink and discuss a wide variety of subjects. Roy tells David that he used to work in a poultry factory and that his wife left him for another man.
Roy's walkie-talkie picks up a police message about a local murder by someone fitting David's description. Dave is armed but his gun falls out of his pocket when he falls asleep and Roy takes it. Roy then confesses that he is the man wanted for murder; that the victims were his wife and her partner. He sickens David by describing how he disposed of the bodies in a poultry factory mincer, turning them into a paste which he has fed to David in the sandwiches they had shared earlier. Roy intends to blow up the police helicopter that is looking for him on the marsh. David tries to reason with Roy but the pair end up fighting. In the struggle, David steals his gun back and kills Roy.
Cast
- Alex MacQueenAlex MacQueenAlexander Tulloch MacQueen is an English actor. He has appeared on television, film and radio in the UK in productions such as Holby City, Hut 33, The Thick of It, and Keeping Mum....
as Roy Tunt - Phil Campbell as Dave John
MacQueen had previously played the role of Tunt in the stage version.
Critical evaluation
The film met with a positive critical reaction; The ScotsmanThe Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
s Alistair Harkness described it as "an absorbing drama from two characters in a single location that simmers with menace and builds to a satisfyingly macabre conclusion". 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 described it as "a modestly scaled but cleverly written chamber piece", and commented on "the superb underplaying by the two actors, Campbell coiled and terse, Macqueen prissily pedantic and controlling". James Christopher of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
described the interplay between the two protagonists: "Their arguments have the tension and rhythm of a classic black-box fringe play. It's a crude but enthralling duel with shades of Peter Schaffer's Sleuth
Sleuth (play)
Sleuth is a 1970 play written by Anthony Shaffer. The play is set in the Wiltshire, England manor house of Andrew Wyke, an immensely successful mystery writer. His home reflects Wyke's obsession with the inventions and deceptions of fiction and his fascination with games and game-playing...
. Shades too of Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
’s Rope
Rope (film)
Rope is a 1948 American thriller film based on the play Rope by Patrick Hamilton and adapted by Hume Cronyn and Arthur Laurents, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and produced by Sidney Bernstein and Hitchcock as the first of their Transatlantic Pictures productions...
." The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
s film critic Philip French identified influences from both Losey's grandfather and Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...
. Time Outs David Jenkins also compared the film to the work of Samuel Beckett
Samuel Beckett
Samuel Barclay Beckett was an Irish avant-garde novelist, playwright, theatre director, and poet. He wrote both in English and French. His work offers a bleak, tragicomic outlook on human nature, often coupled with black comedy and gallows humour.Beckett is widely regarded as among the most...
. Allan Hunter of the Daily Express
Daily Express
The Daily Express switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 1977 and was bought by the construction company Trafalgar House in the same year. Its publishing company, Beaverbrook Newspapers, was renamed Express Newspapers...
also raised Beckett comparisons and called it "moody, minimalist and well-observed".
External links
- Marek Losey on The Hide", Film 4