Project Detail

Unknown Things

Synopsis

Young American antiques dealer, Charles, is captivated by the enigmatic Mrs Hoogstraten when he finds her giving him the once-over at a London flea market. She is married to the brilliant but stifling Hoogstraten, a wealthy collector of unfathomable objects. But her look tells Charles that she's ready for a change.

Charles's shiftless existence takes on a new purpose as he searches for increasingly bizarre contraptions to satisfy Hoogstraten's peculiar appetite and so to get nearer to Mrs Hoogstraten. The trail leads to a mysterious young woman, a narrow-boat laden with Egyptian antiquities, and the sinister Dr MacGregor. When Charles returns to London, he finds that Mrs Hoogstraten is about to leave . . . and wants him to join her on a night train to Venice. Charles sees his dreams about to come true - but what is he getting himself into? Is he just another 'thing' to be used in the Hoogstraten game of manipulation, obsession and desire? What do the Hoogstratens really want? A night of passion unleashes uncontrollable forces in this extraordinary tale of mystery, romance, antique mechanical objects, and murder.

Set in a contemporary London of crumbling Gothic Victoriana, with music from the 1920's through to the present, and masterful lighting by Ken Westbury (Dennis Potter's director of photography), Unknown Things is an incisive, sardonic exploration of sex, death, and the darkest corners of the mind . . . a chilling, sinister love story strongly played by a young and sexy British cast.

Details

Year: 2000
Type of film: Features
Running time: 90 mins
Format: 35mm Kodak
Director: Bruno Coppola
Producer: Bruno Coppola, Sarah Bradshaw
Editor: Clare Douglas, Laurie McDowell
Director of Photography: Ken Westbury B.S.C.
Sound: Clive Derbyshire
Music: Peter Chase
Principal cast: Saskia Reeves, Paul Rhys, David Hayman, Elsa Zylberstein, Adam Henderson, Constantine Gregory
Screen Writer: Matthew Jansky

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Approaching Fish Productions Contact: Bruno Coppola 222 Kensal Road London W10 5BN Tel: 020 8960 6616 Fax: 020 8960 6632

Sales Company

As above

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Based on a short story by the late Reginald Bretnor, Unknown Things is described as a tale of mystery, romance, antique mechanical objects and murder. Set in London, it stars Paul Rhys as an antique dealer whose obsessive infatuation with a married woman leads him on a quest for increasingly bizarre contraptions to satisfy her collector husband and thus remain close by her side. "It's a fascinating and densely written piece with no violence or gunplay yet it is absolutely terrifying," claims first-time director Bruno Coppola. "It explores fear and a hidden power which means it doesn't conform to any formulas you often find in modern film-making." Coppola had worked with co-producer Sarah Bradshaw for the BBC World Service and acquired the rights to Bretnor's work, thinking it might make an excellent low-budget feature. But the screenplay by Matthew Jansky attracted such interest that the project soon mushroomed. "It caught the imagination of photographer Ken Westbury, who worked on some of the classic Dennis Potter pieces. I had never made a feature but once he came on board with his crew, people trusted him and we were able to secure an amazing cast. The initial rushes also created a wave of interest that brought in further financing." Unknown Things has attracted the attention of a number of major distributors and is expected to make its debut on the festival circuit this autumn.

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