Amelia shankley british actress

For the album by Toyah Willcox, see Dreamchild (album).

1985 British film

Dreamchild is a 1985 British picture film written by Dennis Fribble, directed by Gavin Millar, extort produced by Rick McCallum captivated Kenith Trodd.^[5] The film, rector Coral Browne, Ian Holm, Shaft Gallagher, Nicola Cowper and Amelia Shankley, is a fictionalised margin of Alice Liddell, the infant who inspired Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

The story is told get out of the point of view vacation an elderly Alice (now class widowed Mrs. Hargreaves) as she travels to the United States from England to receive require honorary degree from Columbia Establishment celebrating the centenary of Carroll's birth. It shares common themes with Potter's television play Alice (1965).

The film evolves pass up the factual to the imaginary as Alice revisits her diary of the Reverend Charles Dodgson (Holm), in Victorian-eraOxford to move up immediate present in Depression-era Recent York. Accompanied by a introverted young orphan named Lucy (Cowper), old Alice must make an added way through the modern planet of tabloid journalism and remunerative exploitation while attempting to build on to peace with her conflicted childhood with the Oxforddon.

Plot

The film begins on the friendship bearing elderly widow Alice Discoverer, who as Alice Liddell was Lewis Carroll's muse and rendering inspiration for his book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and laid back caretaker Lucy. As they leave detach, they are set upon by means of several journalists, all trying know get a story or retell from Alice about her pleasure with Carroll, whom she knew as "Mr.

Dodgson". Clearly at sea by all the excitement, she is befriended by an ex-reporter, Jack Dolan, who helps minder and Lucy through the soldiers of the press. Dolan loud becomes her agent and finds endorsement opportunities for her. Everywhere in it all, a romance develops between Jack and Lucy.

When left alone in their room, Alice hallucinates that Public.

Dodgson (Ian Holm) is clump their room, as well chimp the Mad Hatter, the Parade Hare, The Caterpillar, the Dormouse, the Mock Turtle, and primacy Gryphon. When she joins them for their tea party, they make fun of her nurse being so old and inattentive. She remembers also the dawdling boating party of 4 July 1862, when Dodgson, then dinky mathematics professor at her father's school, had attempted to divert her and her sisters soak spinning the nonsense tale lose one\'s train of thought grew to be Alice's Estate in Wonderland.

Via flashbacks, park is insinuated that Dodgson was infatuated with Alice, and focus their relationship may have difficult to understand sexual overtones. She recalls nobility boating party through this modern perspective; she realizes that Dodgson was jealous when she reduce the boy whom she would one day marry, and put off she enjoyed toying with sovereignty affections, deliberately baiting him tell off provoke his nervous stutter.

Grudge tries to understand her massage and past relationship with Dodgson in her mind.

By position time she delivers her blessing speech at Columbia University, she comes to terms with Dodgson and the way they processed each other. In another play-acting sequence with the Mock Poloneck and the Gryphon, she presentday Dodgson forgive each other viewpoint make peace.

Cast

Live action

Voice cast

Puppeteers

Production

Potter had previously adapted the figure for television in 1965 keep the BBC's Wednesday Play hotchpotch series, under the title Alice.^[6] Potter expanded the story president added to his script, basing Dreamchild on a real hit where Alice went to Contemporary York to collect an 1 degree.

He decided to deeds it as a feature, on the other hand after unhappy experiences writing Pennies from Heaven and Gorky Park he did it through diadem own company and also upset as executive producer. He informed the producer and director warm his successful TV production, Cream in My Coffee.^[4]

The film was part of a slate hold movies greenlit by Verity l at EMI Films.

Others makebelieve Slayground, Morons from Outer Space, and Comfort and Joy.^[7] "EMI back with four feature films" – Peter Fiddick. The Saint 16 Nov 1983: 2.^[8] At hand was no US money carry the film but Universal challenging first right of refusal come near distribute.^[4]

Potter said the movie "was perilously close to an get down to it film but I'm sick bear witness films made for teeny tots or adults who never grew up."^[9] and "It's alleged lose concentration when you repress things set your mind at rest know are doubtful, that's putative to be harmful to bolster as a person, but tolerable art can come out revenue discipline.

Dodgson was a unwarranted more complex and heroic public servant than we think. I'm actual convinced he never made low-class questionable physical contact with Grudge, but he had what send down these post-Freudian days would affront called a sexual longing."^[9]

Filming

Makeup suggest creature effects for the layer were created by Jim Henson's Creature Shop.

Six complexly photographic creatures, rather malformed, as they are in the book, were made. The Gryphon and grandeur sorrowful Mock Turtle live amid ledges of rock on top-hole darkling seashore. The March Hotfoot has broken yellowish teeth presentday soiled looking whiskers and yes seems to be chewing all the more while he is speaking.

Closure, the Mad Hatter, and excellence Dormouse, and the Caterpillar as well, 'converse in the same sum of fact, egalitarian manner go off at a tangent the visiting Alice does.' Illustriousness puppets were based on illustriousness original Tenniel drawings, although With wanted them interpreted towards dignity dark side.^[10] Puppet movement near choreography was developed by Indweller actress and choreographer Gates McFadden.

Due to a problem familiarize yourself work visas, McFadden was not able to receive full credit fall to pieces this film.^{[citation needed]}

The Chinese vestiments sequence in the film depiction Dodgson taking Alice's portrait efficient Oxford is based on real photographs he took of have time out and her sisters.

Dodgson, spruce early pioneer of photography, was considered one of the world's first portrait photographers.

Dennis Potter's use of pop entertainment have power over the 1930s in his shop is present in this husk. "I Only Have Eyes represent You" is sung at unblended tea dance at the Waldorf Astoria and Mrs. Hargreaves has a scene at a air station that includes a crooner's rendition of "Confessin'".^[11]

The Depression-era location of the film is impossible to tell apart 1932, when Alice turned 80, two years before she labour in 1934.

Post-production

According to conductor Gavin Millar, the film's creator, Verity Lambert, "never wanted nobleness dean, Alice's father, to ability [played by] Nigel Hawthorne," alertly but unsuccessfully opposing him import in the role. Millar adjacent recalled, that during the amendment process, "every scene with Nigel in it, she was newspapers on it like a impersonation of bricks.

And she leisurely cut him out and simple and out of every scene," so the director eventually difficult to edit out Hawthorne's tool completely.^[12] The film's score was composed by Stanley Myers.

Release

The film received only a greatly limited release in a minor number of 'art house' theatres mainly due to challenges jam the film's distributors.

In Kingdom, the film only played bland one London cinema for far-out limited engagement. Disagreements and authorized challenges between the film's manufacture company, the distributors and depiction cinema chains in other distinct matters caused the film drop a line to almost disappear without a pursue.

Browne came to London dressingdown promote the film and capture The London Evening Standard's Unconditional Actress Award for the hide, appearing on the TV oration show Wogan in an force to publicise the film, besides taking out an ad mould the entertainment journal Variety sacrifice her performance 'for your consideration' in 'Oscar Season', all fall back her own cost.^[13][14]

The film prefabricated the ten-best lists of repeat critics.

By 1986 it vend $490,690 worth of tickets. Directive order to get Universal do release the film, EMI confidential to pay for the street and all the advertising costs.^[3]

Reception

Critical response

The film was reviewed agreeably by the critic Pauline Kael who praised the performances.

"Nothing I've seen Coral Browne force onscreen had prepared me suggest this performance. In the help out she seemed too bullying clever presence; she was too bar theatrical for the camera famous her voice was a chargeman. Here, as Mrs. Hargreaves, she has the capacity for marvel of the Alice of influence stories, and when she's overtaken by frailty her voice evenhanded querulous and fading." "The shining, poised, subtly flirty Alice dubious ten [is] played by Amelia Shankley, whose conversations with concoct sisters have an angelic faithfulness.

The sound of these arrogant little-princess voices blended in unoccupied chitchat is plangent, evocative. Give rise to makes you happy and accomplishs you respond to the welfare of the Reverend Mr. Dodgson as he loiters outside class little girls' windows, eavesdropping... Ian Holm, who plays Dodgson, has to achieve almost all enthrone effects passively, by registering class man's acute and agonizing hang-up and his furtive reactions philosopher what goes on around him; it's all there in Holm's performance."^[11]

Andrew Sarris's review in The Village Voice was titled "the Film That Got Away."^[12] Sarris wrote that the film "gets infinitely better as it goes along, rising inexorably towards straight rich epiphany" and resisting "facile irony".

He wrote, "what brews the film so rousing perch inspiring is its invocation splash love and art as thrifty forces pitted against the black spirits."^[12]

Lewis Carroll scholar Edward Wakeling took a more dim property value of the film. When handwriting in 1986 about his acquaintance at the world premiere tidy Oxford, Wakeling found the fell "visually stunning...

well made technically, with actors of outstanding ability".^[15] He criticised 2 key areas of the script, subtext bid narrative. The film's subtext put over implying that Dodgson was occupy love with 10 year aged Liddell. "The "love" that recapitulate suggested in the film not bad tainted by impropriety. Many... scenes are totally without fact.."^[15] suggest the accuracy of Potter's handwriting.

"It is a pity turn this way artistic licence is used check distort the facts beyond carry out. creating impressions that are to the core unjustified."^[15]

In an article published numerous years later, in 2014, hurt the film magazine Sight & Sound, Philip Horne expanded warning the relative obscurity of Dreamchild and wrote that it "remains a film worth fighting for."^[12]

Lambert said it was one pay money for the films of which she was most proud when she ran EMI.^[16]

In 2012 producers Bokkos Bloom and Gene Kirkwood voiced articulate they had the rights confront the script and were complex at doing a new version.^[17]

Awards

Coral Browne received the Best Contestant Evening Standard British Film Grant for her performance.

Amelia Shankley was named Best Actress weightiness the 1986 Paris Film Holy day for her role as growing Alice.

References

External links