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Projects | Filmography

Song for Marion (2012)

  • Cast Highlights:
  • Vanessa Redgrave
  • Terence Stamp
  • Christopher Eccleston
    		•
    Character: Elizabeth
    Production Status: Completed
    Release Date: 2012 (TIFF)
    Director: Paul Andrew Williams
    Writers: Paul Andrew Williams
    Genre: Comedy | Drama
    MPAA Rating: n/a

    Plot Outline:
    Arthur (Terence Stamp) is a grumpy 78 year old that is stuck in his ways. His world revolves around caring for his ill but happy-go-lucky wife Marion (Vanessa Redgrave), while his relationship with his 42 year old son James (Christopher Eccleston) has deteriorated badly. Only Marion and granddaughter Jennifer's charms manage to keep the family together.

    To Arthur's dismay, Marion loves attending a local community choir for pensioners that sing modern songs, and after an audition process the choir is selected to participate at a prestigious festival.

    Tragically Marion passes away. It is left to choir director Elizabeth (Gemma Arterton) to try and persuade a broken-hearted Arthur that he can learn to embrace life. Arthur reluctantly joins the choir in an effort to put aside his loneliness and learn how to laugh and enjoy life again. Now he must confront the undercurrents of his own grumbling persona as he embarks on a hilarious, life-affirming journey of musical self discovery.

    Director Paul Andrew Williams comments "Song for Marion is a story which is not only incredibly personal to me, but to many families and generations around the world. To see it brought to life by such an incredible and dynamic cast is not only massively exciting but also totally nerve racking!"

    Gemma's Role:
    Gemma plays the part of Elizabeth, a cheerful school music teacher who, it emerges, is getting more joy from working with the pensioners' choir than she is in her personal life. The evolution of her relationship with Marion's doting but choir-hating husband Arthur (Terence Stamp) owes something to her confessing her love-life troubles to him, and something more to her determination to help him find his true voice as a good and loving man.

    "I think I shot [Song for Marion] immediately after Hansel & Gretel, it was an antidote to that kind of big movie. I have done those kinds of blockbuster movies, and it's a totally different experience," she explained to UK TV show This Morning (February 2013). "You are still required to do the same kind of thing, which is to be as truthful as you can. The great thing about low budget movies is that you have to muck in and get involved and often there is a time pressure and you have to be more creative with your approach. You have to invest. You know everybody and there is a real camaraderie on set, and I personally love that because I come from a theatre background so it feels more at home."

    Terence Stamp has paid tribute to Gemma's acting skills in interviews about SfM, and many members of the choir - the OAPz, as it becomes known - paid tribute on the set to her skills as a human being. Some of the choir members are distinguished and very experienced professional actors, others were debutantes. All described Gemma as great fun to work with and completely approachable. Not an air and grace to rub to together.

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    Cast and Crew Quotes:
    • "The story, and the troupe and the combination of artists, it just brought out the best in everyone, really. So when I went on the set, the energy of the set, the collective energy, was more than the sum of the individuals. I felt so confident with Gemma and Vanessa and I had the confidence to play my character because you could feel her love for him and I thought that's enough, I don't need to pretend to be nice."
    - Terence Stamp (Song for Marion co-star)

    • "Q: Is it true that Gemma Arterton spent six months learning the piano for her role?
    A: Well, that sounds amazing but it's not strictly true. It wasn't six months. It was probably a few months and that's not to slag off her commitment. But it sounds like she went to some hardcore piano training school. She learnt various bits and she did really well. What's in the film, she played. She's a very committed actress and it was interesting to work with her. She's so down to earth. It was great to speak to her on the phone, and then I met her and she was totally up for it and just like one of the gang really."
    - Paul Andrew Williams (Song for Marion director)

    • "They're all fucking good actors and Gemma is absolutely amazing. Really down to earth but fucking smart, really smart. She's done some big Hollywood movies but she's actually a really solid actress. She's beautiful and a really really good actress."
    - Paul Andrew Williams (Song for Marion director)