Tim Willocks

“It struck me that Amy Foster was one of the greatest love stories ever told, except that the love story itself had been left out.” — Tom Willocks (Screenwriter)

This lovely film based on Joseph Conrad’s “Amy Foster” is filled with the timeless grace of classic literature. The Cornwall English coast has rarely been so beautifully photographed as it is here in this story of two hearts saving each other from a life of loneliness.

Director Beeban Kidron uses Rachel Weisz’s open and beautiful face to marvelous effect, and Weisz brilliantly conveys the accumulated hurt and resolve of a girl who has lived her entire life deprived of love. Amy Foster is burdened with a father who resents her for the marriage her arrival into the world forced him into, and a mother who withholds her love because of a much deeper shame of which Amy is unaware. Amy counters their unkindness with a silence that seems strange to those around her, making her an outcast. She casts her heart upon the sea in the hopes it will be reborn.

This exquisitely beautiful work of art begins when the sole survivor of a shipwreck, a Russian man unable to communicate with those around him, washes ashore. He is treated in the same manner as Amy by the entire village, and their hearts connect instantly. A deeply moving yet simple act of human kindness when she washes his feet and offers him bread is never to be forgotten, setting the tone for the entire film. Vincent Perez gives a perfect performance as the stranger who is lost and helpless in a foreign land. For Amy it is as if the sea she so dearly loves has felt her hurt, and brought to her the love she has been denied. Ian McKellan and Kathy Bates also lend depth to this tender and tragic tale revolving around the sea.

Screenwriter Tom Willocks turned Conrad’s rather cold and distant story inside out, imbuing in it the romance it was lacking. Directed with sensitivity in a less is more school of filmmaking style, Beeban Kidron does a beautiful job in the rendering of this tale. The viewer is left with much the same feeling one gets after turning the final page in a work of timeless literature. A lovely film which will linger in the heart long after the credits roll, this deeply romantic film, laced with tenderness, will be loved by all in possession of a romantic heart.… (mere)

For anyone who loves the beauty and grace of the fine film, Swept From the Sea, starring Rachel Weiz and Vincent Perez, this makes a wonderful companion. It includes the screenplay, an interview with director Beeban Kidron, stills from the film and, of course, the original short story by Joseph Conrad.

I have never been a huge Conrad fan and reading this short story after seeing the beautiful film it inspired was a reminder why. Though it obviously is literature, it is plagued by Conrad’s choice of Kennedy to relate the tale. Whereas F. Scott Fitzgerald could find grace and beauty in seemingly sketchy, or even trivial, people and situations, Conrad is either unwilling or unable to do so. It reads as though a beautiful romantic tragedy had been written without any love or sentiment. For that reason, Conrad’s “Amy Foster” leaves you cold.

Tom Willocks, who enjoys Conrad more than I do, ran into this problem while writing the screenplay. Then he realized everything was askew in Conrad’s original story. Kennedy’s perspective was obviously tainted, and recognizing this, Wiillocks was he able to turn the story inside out, uncovering the vestiges of love and romance Conrad had omitted.

It is because of Willocks's wonderful screenplay and Beeban Kidron’s handling of it that this is one of those rare instances where the film is better than its original source. The film has the grace and beauty of fine literature because screenwriter Tom Willocks gave it such. Reading the screenplay will make you appreciate just what a difficult task such an adaptation was and how screenwriting is an art form all its own.

One of my favorite Meryl Streep films is Plenty, and I was delighted to find that Fred Schepisi, the director of that film, was chosen to interview Beeban Kidron about the making of Swept From the Sea. The twenty-one questions Schepisi asks and Kidron’s responses are invaluable to anyone who loves this exquisitely beautiful work of art. There are little gems and insights into the making of the film fans will enjoy immensely.

The book includes some nice stills from the film to look at, and as a bonus, the entire credits for the film are listed as well. If you haven’t seen this spare and lovely film yet you are missing out. If you have seen it you’ll definitely want to own this as an addition to the film.

“It struck me that Amy Foster was one of the greatest love stories ever told, except that the love story itself had been left out.” — Tom Willocks (screenwriter)… (mere)