In On Chesil Beach (starring Saoirse Ronan), sex causes the breakdown of a relationship because the couple doesn’t have the language to discuss it.
On Chesil Beach: A Special Issue
To celebrate the release of On Chesil Beach, Dominic Cooke's Ian McEwan adaptation starring Saoirse Ronan and newcomer Billy Howle, we are dedicating a week to interviews and essays on the film.
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Alex Heeney interviews director Dominic Cooke (Part 1)
Alex Heeney interviews screenwriter/novelist Ian McEwan
Alex Heeney interviews star Billy Howle
Alex Heeney interviews director Dominic Cooke (Part 2)
Orla Smith interviews costume designer Keith Madden
Orla Smith interviews editor Nick Fenton
Orla Smith interviews DP Sean Bobbitt
Orla Smith interviews production designer Suzie Davies
Alex Heeney on why we need to talk about sex in On Chesil Beach
Interview: On Chesil Beach‘s sets destabilize its characters
On Chesil Beach production designer Suzie Davies discusses researching period, creating environments that contrast with the film’s characters, and how different her process is when working with Mike Leigh. Read the rest of our On Chesil Beach Special Issue here.
Sean Bobbitt: ‘You have that big screen. You must use it.’
On Chesil Beach DP Sean Bobbitt discusses collaboration, composition, and his strong opinions on the anonymity of coverage. Read the rest of our On Chesil Beach Special Issue here.
Nick Fenton on film editing: ‘You are that first audience’
On Chesil Beach editor Nick Fenton discusses his role and how, no matter the style or genre, everything he does stems from the actors. Read the rest of our On Chesil Beach Special Issue here.
Interview: On Chesil Beach avoids cliched period costumes
Costume designer Keith Madden discusses working with the script and the actors to design the costumes for On Chesil Beach, his collaboration with production designer Suzie Davis, and how the clothing of the characters can help make period-specific concerns more palatable to modern audiences. This is the fifth article in our Special Issue on On Chesil […]
Dominic Cooke: ‘Every step toward the bed is so charged’
On Chesil Beach director Dominic Cooke discusses using his experience as a theatre director while still relishing the tools that are unique to cinema. Read part 1 of the interview here. Read the rest of our On Chesil Beach Special Issue here.