Terence Davies is a British director whose work is best known for evoking a certain type of dusky atmosphere and dealing with issues such as dogmatic religion, personal emotions and memory. Because he insists on being the only screen writer on his films, he has had quite a sporadic career. However, he has won numerous awards for The Terence Davies Trilogy (all shorts made in the 1970s, Children, Madonna and Child, and Death and Transfiguration).

Based on a Terence Rattigan play, The Deep Blue Sea, centres on the privileged Hester Collyer, played by Rachel Weisz, who is living in London during the 1950s. Married to Simon Russell Beale’s high court judge Sir William Collyer, who she leaves to move in with Freddie Page, a young ex-RAF pilot played by Tom Hiddleston. They have fallen passionately in love, but will it last? Who should Hester choose in the end? Check out the trailer:

Previous films directed by Terence Davies 

Distant Voices, Still Lives is made up of two separate films. They were shot with the same cast and crew, but two years apart so that the audience can see the development of the characters and the times that they are living in. The cast includes Freda Dowie as the mother and Pete Postlethwaite as the father.  The story is set in Liverpool during the 1940s and early 1950s and depicts working-class family life during this time. The first section, Distant Voices, shows the early life of this Catholic family, living under an oppressive patriarchal regime. This sets the scene for the second film Still Lives, where the children, played by Angela Walsh, Dean Williams and Lorraine Ashbourne, have grown up and we see a Britain that is brighter and more positive. Much emphasis is placed on the role of popular music and Hollywood cinema in a society that is on the brink of discovering rock ‘n’ roll and The Beatles. Distant Voices, Still lives was re-printed in 2007 by the British Film Institute. It was distributed to some of the most high-profile independent cinemas in Britain and hailed by many as a forgotten cinematic masterpiece.

The Long Day Closes (1992) is set in Liverpool in the mid-1950s and tells the story of the eleven-year old ‘Bud’, played by Leigh McCormack, who struggles with loneliness. His loving family, including Marjorie Yates as his mother, feature prominently in the film as well as some bullies at his school. Bud manages to find solace in cinema and spends most of his time at the movies, loving the company that they provide and the positive effect that they have on his life. While the film is set against a rather grey background, clips and audio are taken from classic movies and imposed onto the dreary atmosphere to bring it to life.

Of Time and the City (2008) was inspired by director Chris Marker’s Sans Soleil and looks at the history of Davies’ birthplace in Liverpool, England. This fascinating film essay portrays the rise of the city and how it influenced the young Davies in late 40s and 50s. It is narrated by the director himself, featuring a mixture of his own original reflections as well as poems and prose taken from the work of others. We see, sometimes from an oblique angle, the trajectory from a poor Catholic upbringing to later rejection of religion and other personal discoveries. Once he discovers his homosexuality and fights against his underlying Catholic guilt, we see his character become interested in pop music.

The film captures a deeply personal sense of the Liverpool. Davies uses archival footage to take the viewer on a ferry ride to a day at the beach, and also features contemporary colours and the carefree sight of children playing. This film received rave reviews on its premier at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and hopefully Davies will continue to direct such interesting and heartfelt films.

We’re giving away three copies of The Town, Ben Affleck’s second movie behind the camera. Starring Affleck himself, Mad Men’s Jon Hamm, Pete Postlethwaite in one of his last cinematic roles and Rebecca Hall, the film is an explosive mixture of bank robbery, action, romance and Irish Americans.

At The Film Review, we really liked the movie when it first came out, you can read our review of The Town here.

The DVD which comes out on Monday 31st January also features an audio commentary by Ben Affleck and two great mini-documentaries: “The Real People of the Town”, “Ben Affleck: Director & Actor”.

To win one of three copies of the The Town, just answer the multiple choice question below.

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The town in question is Affleck’s home ground of Boston, where ‘there are over 300 bank robberies…every year’.

Doug MacRay (Affleck) is a bank robber who bumps into one of his traumatised victims, Claire (Rebecca Hall), shortly after a job.

A relationship develops between the two and this starts to endanger MacRay, whose gang is being investigated by an FBI team led by agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm of Mad Men fame).

The film is directed by Affleck, who (alongside Peter Craig) also wrote the screenplay, an adaptation of The Prince of Thieves, a book by Chuck Hogan.

Blake Lively also stars as the sister of one of the robbers and Pete Postlethwaite plays a fine baddie.

Overall Affleck’s career has been an uneven one, moving from Oscar winning highs on Good Will Hunting to cinematic lows like Gigli and then climbing once more to acclaim with Gone Baby Gone and Hollywoodland.

Affleck’s directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, received positive reviews. The film was also set in the more ‘disadvantaged’ parts of Boston and featured its director as a minor character, but this time he’s taking a starring role.

Can Affleck repeat his success behind the camera while starring in front of it as well?

Watch the trailer here: