Amanda Hunt speaks with Alice Lowe, star of Sightseers and Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace about her new film Black Mountain Poets.
When neurotic sisters Lisa (Alice Lowe) and Claire Walker (Dolly Wells) are hot on their heels from the authorities, they find themselves at a weekend poetry retreat in the Black Mountains, Wales. They assume the identities of internationally renowned poets, the Wilding Sisters’ and embark on a new journey of love, laughter and cash prizes.
Actress, writer and director Alice Lowe stars in Black Mountain Poets, alongside Dolly Wells (45 Years) and Tom Cullen (Downton Abbey). “It’s a film that’s pretty much all improvised,” explains Alice. “It’s a romantic comedy about a love triangle. There are two sisters who are con-artists. They’re on the run from the law and they find themselves at a poet’s retreat, pretending to be poets to escape detection. There is a lot of silly poetry and great comic performances.”
Judging from the trailer, there seems to be no doubt that Alice is once again on top form with her comedic prowess. Her subtlety and dry wit is unleashed when she has to prove her worth by reading out a receipt from Tesco.
Known for her darker and more gruesome films such as Sightseers, I was curious to know if this was a new lighter direction in her career? “I am into my horror, sci-fi and all of that kind of thing but this was something a bit different. But I like doing stuff where there is a really good character, something that I can get my teeth into. I really enjoyed playing Lisa because she is a bit of a nightmare but she has a soft centre. She is a kind of a ‘devil may care’, bolshie sort of character but she is vulnerable underneath all of that.”
So what was it like working with Dolly Wells? “It was really brilliant working with Dolly because we are playing these two very different sisters. We have got this dynamic where I am the bossy one, where as she is more shy, nervous and anxious about things.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwxRVDDXOZY
Filmed in October for five days in the Welsh Black Mountains, the weather must have been pretty abysmal. “It was quite awful weather but it all adds to the performances and funniness of it. As an actor you know it is going to be funny with the more torture you are put through. It was a very short shoot and we kind of just went for it”.
This is not the first time Alice has filmed in Wales, and she recently starred in and directed her revenge film Prevenge, whilst being eight months pregnant. “It has been really great filming in Wales. It has sort of been a coincidence that I have been filming in Wales so much but it has definitely been inspiring. You can end up filming in the same locations over and over again so it has been nice having this fresh perspective of filming scenes in places that you haven’t seen before. It adds a bit of originality and gives a bit of inspiration to everyone.”
Black Mountain Poets was written and directed by Jamie Adams, and I wanted to know whether they had worked together before. “No, I haven’t actually but I have been in contact with him for a while and it just so happened that he asked if I was around for this film. It was quite appealing getting a feature done in five days and I had that time free. If it had been a longer shoot, I wouldn’t have been able to do it”.
Having already been screened at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, it received a nomination for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film and a win for the Student Critics Jury Award, a promising sign for its general release.
Black Mountain Poets, Fri 1 Apr. Info: www.jolenefilms.com