Projects matching: Paul McGuigan

Synopsis

It’s Belfast – early 70s… BOOM! Something’s in the air and it’s not a bomb, it’s a revolution. Glam Rock is drowning out the noise of armoured cars. As British soldiers patrol the streets, kids are glued to Top Of The Pops, entranced by Marc Bolan, the androgynous, satin-clad, glitter-god.
Official Selection Krakow Film Festival 2022

Synopsis

The story of the playful, but passionate relationship between Peter Turner, a young British actor, and the eccentric Academy Award-winning actress Gloria Grahame (who rose to fame in the 1940s) in her later years.
What starts as a vibrant affair between a legendary femme fatale and her young lover, quickly grows into a deeper relationship, with Turner being the one person she allows herself to turn to for comfort and strength. But, their passion and lust for life is ultimately tested to the limits by events beyond their control.
Based on the memoir by British actor Peter Turner.
Official Selection Rotterdam International Film Festival 2018

Synopsis

Charting the phenomenal journey that took Manchester band Oasis from releasing their first single in 1994, to record-breaking sell-out shows at Knebworth Park in 1996, where the band played to 125,000 fans per night. The story of one of the UK's biggest bands, told in all their intense and volatile glory, using rare and unseen material and exclusive interviews.
"The funny thing is, after all that fucking mouthing off about how we were going to be the biggest band in the world, we actually went and did it...and it was a piece of piss" Noel Gallagher

Synopsis

Michelle is young, bright and attractive, leaving prison with a spring in her step and determined to steer clear of the heroin that led her here. Shaun is getting out after a year, his mother Angela there to greet him and take him home to start anew.

In improvised scenes drawn from their past and present experience, Michelle is tempted by a junkie friend and succumbs to an overdose, while Shaun tries hard with his friend Carl to stay straight. It's only a matter of time before Angela's suspicions are confirmed as they return to drugs and thieving. Michelle continues her fighting descent back into addiction, revealing the defining moments of her life: the death of her mother and her father's effective abandonment of her. Angela discusses with Carl's mother the impact of heroin on their lives and her relationships with other men, recalling the despair that led to her attempted suicide. But it's her love which keeps Shaun going, the love Michelle has lost.

In this powerful, often emotional film, Hollywood-bound film director Paul McGuigan achieves a vibrant modern approach to the kind of creative documentary originated by Robert Flaherty and developed by Humphrey Jennings.

Synopsis

England 14th century. Plague and bandit attacks threaten remote communities and the forests that surround them add nameless terrors. The people labour under the yoke of two oppressive powers - the Church laying claim to their souls and the Knights, the feudal warlords, who command life after death.

Nicholas, a young priest, is discovered in the act of adultery by an enraged husband who dies in the ensuing struggle. Appalled by his fall from grace, he turns his back on the Church and goes on the run.

Destitute and forced to hide his privileged origins, Nicholas joins a troupe of travelling actors who have just lost one of their number. He is falling for Sarah, the beautiful sister of the troupe's leader, but the shame of his past leads him to conceal his passion. He begs to stay and learn the mysteries of the actor's craft.

The small town where they plan to perform The Fall of Adam and Eve is under a dark cloud of fear. A boy has been murdered, and the town's sheriff has been swift to lay the blame on a deaf and dumb girl, Martha, who can do nothing to defend herself, but whose striking looks captivate Martin. Realising that the crime is not the first, the actors set on a course of action, which will expose a serial killer.

Synopsis

Gangster No 1 tells the story of the emblematically named Gangster, who rises through the London underworld to usurp his mentor Freddie Mays (David Thewlis). But director Paul McGuigan sees it as much more than a genre crime film. "It's like a Greek tragedy, about a man who is propelled not so much by hatred but by obsession," he says.



"Because it's a simple, character-driven story we could put a lot of thought into the whole style of the film," explains McGuigan. The stylish surface is appropriate for the story of a man obsessed by the glamour of gangland life.



Production designer Richard Bridgland, who had the task of recreating 1960s London for the substantial portion of the film that takes place in flashback, says he responded to what he describes as the "mythic quality" of the script. "The gold, mirrors and glitter play a part because it's all empty, like the hollow victory Gangster scores," Bridgland explains. He and McGuigan searched for "1960s modern" locations in hotels, clubs and flats around London, while costume designer Jany Temime dressed the men in sharp suits from tailors such as Mark Powell and Ozwald Boateng. Paul Bettany, who plays young Gangster in the flashback scenes (Malcolm McDowell is the older, present-day Gangster) saw the image as essential to his character: "When you're standing there in a pure silk suit by Mark Powell... well, half your job's done for you."



McGuigan was drawn to the "powerful and unusual" script with its "poetic" voice-over, as were the actors; Thewlis describes the language as "stylised and eloquent, straight out of left field".



McGuigan's first full-length feature after his award-winning trilogy of shorts The Acid House, Gangster No 1 was released in the UK in June, to critical acclaim.

Synopsis

Set in 1960's Soho, a blood-chilling battle of wills is played out between London's leading gangster and the young apprentice who wants to usurp him. A study of cunning, deceit, violence, betrayal and obsession.

Synopsis

Paul McGuigan's The Acid House is a surreal triptych adapted by Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh from his collection of short stories. Combining a vicious sense of humour with hard-talking drama, the film reaches into the hearts and minds of the chemical generation, casting a dark and unholy light into the hidden corners of the human psyche. The first film of the trilogy, The Granton Star Cause, is a black comedy of revenge, football and religion. The second, A Soft Touch, is a story of love and betrayal with Johnny as the 'soft touch', who is all too easily manipulated by those around him. The final film is a surreal comic story about marriage, babies and an excess of chemical abuse.