An affection for creatives.
One of my guilty pleasures, although to be quite honest, I feel no guilt whatsoever in indulging, is watching actors and film-makers talk about their movies, TV shows, etc. Things like actors round tables, variety’s actors on actors and so on. I recently watched ,Stephen Graham, the absolute legend of a man, talk about his newest show ,Adolescence, and it was both moving and transformative. Not to sound super hippy dippy, whisy washy or pretentious. But it was beautiful watching this man explain what inspired him to shoot this 4 episode show on such a serious and heart-wrenching topic.
To summarise, Adolescence is about a young boy who kills a girl when she rejects him. It is not an easy topic to cover, and it’s one that is full of nuance no matter what anyone says. But there was something so inspiring about watching him talk about how he read an article about this very thing on the internet and how it broke his heart so badly that he knew he needed to create a show so that people could talk about this severe problem.
He also decided to shoot this whole series in one take. So, each episode has no cuts, no stops, no pauses for you to catch your breath. You follow these people for the whole episode. You don’t get to hide behind a cut scene. No palate cleanser in between emotions. You are right there with these people in the moment. Feeling what they feel. I watched this man be so intentional about his storytelling and it lit a fire under my tush. The detail he put into telling this story was truly phenomenal. In both the writing and the directing of it. It was not about who did it, but rather about why such a thing occured in the first place. What are the factors that could lead to something like this unfolding. If this boy had the loving family, the normal upbringing then at whose feet do we lay the blame? It was about unpacking the phrase “it takes a village” and the result of what happens when maybe sometimes the whole village fails. The beauty of this whole story was how he did it with such love and intention. It was not about accusing anyone but it was about asking questions.
While adolescence is an amazing piece of art. It was watching this man talk about his art that truly made me want to watch it. Now this is not an easy 4 episodes that one can watch on a Sunday morning curled up in bed. But there is something utterly moving when you watch other creatives, other storytellers, talk so passionately about their work. The reason I watched Saltburn was that I watched the director, Emerald Fenell dissect a scene from the movie and her detail and kind of manic need to touch every single part of that one scene in Saltburn, made me want to watch it all the more.
Sure, both these shows have interesting premise and ideas at their centre. One is about obsession and desire, and the other is about society and community having an effect on the raising of our children. But it was always these directors and writers talking about their work that made me sit up and go, absolutely, this is the one I am going to watch.
There is something so magnetic watching these craftsmen at work. Talking about why this was important. Why did this scene in saltburn need pantyhose hanging from the chandelier? Why did Adolescence need to be shot in one take? All of it made me sit up and want to be a better writer, photographer, storyteller, creative. Because at the heart of it all, there is so much intention and intentionality in art is just one of the sexiest things I could ever think of.
That love of craft that gives you sleepless nights. The idea in your head that will not leave that lingers at the edge of your vision even as you try to drift off to sleep at night. That adrenaline-fueled moment as you try to convey your feelings into a paragraph or a voice note to a friend. That kind of gritty feeling in your stomach as you try and write down that picture you see in your head in the hope that you can bring it to life. that’s how I feel when I hear people talk about their work. Even though it is through the screen, their love for what they do spills onto me. It flows and joins the streams of what I love to do. The little kindling that you add to the fire.
There is something magical when the work that people do touch a part of your soul. Whether it be film and tv or books, or just simple essays like this one. I think I love it so much because it gives me permission to be just as passionate about what i do. That I am allowed to love so completely the things that i do.
