Description
O'Sullivan challenges the prevailing characterizations of Leigh's cinema by detailing the complicated constructions of his realism, positing his films not as transparent records of life but as aesthetic transformations of it. Concentrating on the most recent two decades of Leigh's career, the study examines how Naked, Secrets and Lies, Topsy-Turvy, Vera Drake, and other films engage narrative convergence and narrative diffusion, the tension between character and plot, the interplay of coincidence and design, cinema's relationship to other systems of representation, and the filmic rendering of the human figure. The book also spotlights such earlier, less-discussed works as Four Days in July and The Short and Curlies, illustrating the recurring visual and storytelling concerns of Leigh's cinema. With a detailed filmography, this volume also includes key selections from O'Sullivan's several interviews with Leigh.
A new look at a well-loved director's critical engagement with cinema
About the Author
Sean O'Sullivan is an assistant professor of English at The Ohio State University.
Reviews
"This intriguing artist is certainly worthy of this thorough study. Recommended."--Choice
"For knowledgeable filmgoers this is a useful examination of Leigh's oeuvre."--Library Journal
"Masterful. O'Sullivan utilizes astonishing scope and variation to confirm how Leigh's work bears comparison with the major work of the directors who have mattered most to the development of the latest of the great worldwide arts. It is a very lucky artist that finds and inspires so articulate and artistic a critic."--Stanley Cavell, author of Cavell on Film
"An essential work for fans . . . of Mike Leigh's cinema."--Rain Taxi
Book Information
ISBN 9780252078194
Author Sean O'Sullivan
Format Paperback
Page Count 184
Imprint University of Illinois Press
Publisher University of Illinois Press
Series Contemporary Film Directors
Dimensions(mm) 210mm * 140mm * 13mm
