Toronto International Film Festival
Festival – Masters
Piers Handling
21 Aug 2012

Everyday – Directed by Michael Winterbotton, stars John Simm and Shirley Henderson

PROGRAMMER’S NOTE

The peripatetic Michael Winterbottom proves once again that he can find a style to suit any subject. Commissioned by Channel 4 to make a film on the prison system, Winterbottom decided to employ a unique, almost documentary-style mode of production, shooting over a five-year period with a mix of professionals and non-professionals to document not only the life of an inmate but also, just as importantly, the passage of time, which takes on a different dimension for those behind bars. Because the film’s protagonist, Ian (John Simm), has four pre-teen children, the long shooting period was also used to realistically observe his family as they grew up over the course of his imprisonment. Everyday is the result: another engrossing film from this restless director.

The film feels spontaneous, alive and full of off-the-cuff moments. Ian’s wife, Karen (Shirley Henderson), is a reedy slip of a mother, who has to juggle the demands of getting four youngsters dressed, fed, and off to school every day and serving beer in a pub to support them, all the while trying to visit her husband as often as possible, which involves a lengthy train ride. Often towing a couple of the children along with her, she and Ian grab as many private moments as they can under the watchful eyes of the guards. Ian is allowed out on day passes as he gets closer to release, which means the family can do the things so long denied them: walk and play in parks, kick a football around, grab meals together. But Winterbottom is careful to balance this with the sheer grind that both adults must contend with, as well as the temptations that spring up along the way.

These developments are detailed in the most sensitive manner, and evolve naturally out of the narrative. Winterbottom is exceptional at capturing the rhythms and textures of daily life, as lived both behind bars and in freedom. Tension is everywhere, but so are respites of love and tenderness. And then, finally, Ian is released — but even though he has seen his wife and children over the years, will he be able to pick up where he left off? Winterbottom’s understated filmmaking gives Everyday a potent, quiet punch.

Director Biography
Michael Winterbottom

‘Everyday’ Director Michael Winterbottom

Michael Winterbottom was born in Blackburn, England. He studied English at Oxford University and film at Bristol University and the Polytechnic of Central London. Many of his films have screened at the Festival: his four-part BBC serial Family (04), and the features Butterfly Kiss (95), Go Now (95), Jude (96), Welcome to Sarajevo (97), Wonderland (98), In This World (02), Code 46 (03), 9 Songs (04), Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story (05) and The Trip (10). Everyday (12) is his latest film.

SCHEDULE
Saturday September 8
TIFF Bell Lightbox 1
6:45 PM

Monday September 10
Cineplex Yonge & Dundas 7
3:00 PM

Sunday September 16
TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
12:30 PM

FILM INFORMATION

Director: Michael Winterbottom
Country: United Kingdom
Year: 2012
Language: English
Runtime: 106 minutes

Exec. Producer: Andrew Eaton
Producer: Melissa Parmenter
Production Co.: Revolution Films
Principal Cast: Shirley Henderson, John Simm, Laurence Richardson

Screenplay: Laurence Coriat, Michael Winterbottom
Cinematographer: James Clarke, Sean Bobbitt, Marcel Zyskind, Simon Tindall, Anne Marie Lean Vercoe
Editor: Mags Arnold, Paul Monaghan
Sound: Will Whale, Adrian Bell, Paul Cameron
Int. Sales Agent: Bankside Films